Could It Be
by curiousbabe
Summary: Steph and Joe broke up for good. Ranger comes back from being in the wind. First fanfic. Not Morelli freindly.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything, all characters belong to Janet E.

This is my first fanfic, please be kind. This is a Babe Story. **Not** Morelli friendly.

Steph's POV:

Hi my name is Stephanie Plum. I'm 33 years old, I have a job that mostly sucks, my car just went to car heaven, and I my shower massager is on the fritz.

Lets see... where do I begin. I'm a bounty hunter, and not a very good one at that. I just rolled in garbage for the umpteenth time, lost my skip, and to top it off my pos car was smashed with sledge hammer while on Stark Street. Now I'm waiting for the police to show up and make out a report before my car gets towed away to car heaven.

I gave my report to Eddie and Big Dog, now we're waiting for the tow truck.

"Cupcake, Cupcake are you listing to me?"

I looked up into the face of Joe Morelli my ex. "What do you want Morelli?"

"You know what I want Cupcake. I want you to quit that stupid job of yours. Haven't you rolled in garbage enough? How many cars do you have to total before you realize that it's time to stop these fantasies, and give up working. If you would just marry me your mother wouldn't worry anymore, and we can have the life that you always wanted."

I was so shocked, I couldn't believe what he was saying. The life he wanted, not me!

"Joe we broke up two months ago. I'm not going to quit my job, and I wouldn't marry you if you were last man on earth!"

"Awe come on Cupcake, the boys miss you."

"Morelli when I left it was for good. I could care less about the boys. Why don't you have that skank Terri take care of them for you, because you will never touch me again!"

"Cupcake, haven't you gotten over that yet? It was just a big misunderstanding."

"No Joe! I do not think finding you playing hide the salami with Terri was misunderstanding! You are a pig! I'm done with you!"

"I guess you need more time, I'll call you later Cupcake."

I thought my head was going to explode. Does he actually think I could forgive him. I yelled to him. "Don't ever call me again Morelli!" He was already in his car driving away, when I felt that familiar prickle on the back of my neck. I turned around and smacked right into Ranger's chest.

Ranger has been in the wind for the past three months. I was shocked to see him. Usually Tank, Ranger's right hand man, will let me know if he's expecting him back.

"Ranger when did you get Back?"

"I missed you too Babe." Then he kissed me, and let me tell you this was no kiss you'd give your sister. This was a bone melting kiss, with a lot of tongue. When he pulled back, I noticed my hands were fist-ed into his shirt and my knees went week. He steadied me.

"Just got back Babe. You need a ride?"

Damn, I think I just messed my panties. The double meaning in his voice made me fall backwards. If Ranger didn't have a hold on my waist I would have fallen right on my ass.

"Come on I'll give you a lift home."

We were driving in his Turbo. I snuggled down in the seats, rested my head back, and inhaled. "Yum!"

"Babe." Ranger groaned.

Oops, I guess I said that out loud.

"I have a job for you tonight."

"Is it a distraction?"

"Yes, be ready at nine."

"What should I wear?"

The car stopped, and we were in my parking lot. Ranger leaned over, pulled me to him, and kissed me. When he pulled back he twirled a piece of my hair, and said "I'll see you at nine."

I was dazed, Ranger's kisses have a way to make a woman forget which way is up. I stumbled out of the car, hearing Ranger chuckle.

Somehow I made it into my apartment. It was 5:00. I had four hours before Ranger would pick me back up. I took a quick shower, and came out to hear the phone ringing. I ran to answer it.

"Stephanie this is your mother. What is this I hear you rolled in garbage again, and your car was towed away. Mary Richard's daughter never rolls in garbage. Why can't you just quit that job and marry that nice boy Joe already? I expect you for dinner tonight, I made pot roast with mashed potatoes. Pineapple upside down cake for dessert."

I have no food in my house, and even though I really don't feel like sitting through a dinner at my parent's house, my mother new she had me. I never turn down pineapple upside down cake.

"I'll see you at six mom."

I looked up and saw that it was 5:30. I only have a half hour to get dressed and make it to parent's house by six. Damn it, I just remembered that I don't have a car. There was a knock at my door. I answered it to a smiling Lester. "Hey Beautiful", Lester said.

"Hi Lester."

"Boss said you might need these." He handed me the keys to Ranger's Cayenne.

"Ranger is always one step ahead of me, and always knows what I need before I do. Hmm, maybe he has my phone bugged. Nope he's just Batman."

Lester was standing in the doorway laughing.

"Oops, did I say that out loud?"

"Yes Beautiful you did. Don't worry I won't say anything."

I told Lester thanks, and watched him leave.

I made it to parent's house with two minute's to spare. My mother and grandmother were waiting at the door for me. "Is that Ranger's car" my grandmother asked.

"Yes grandma it is. He's letting me borrow it."

"Well, ain't that a pip" she said. "Can you drop me off for a viewing? I'm meeting my new stud muffin Calvin, and I'd love for everyone to see me getting out of that fine package Ranger's car."

When I sat down at the table I noticed an extra place setting. Just then the doorbell rang. "I'll get it" my mother yelled. I looked up to see Morelli sitting down next to me. I swear I was so mad steam was coming out of my ears. My mother was smiling "isn't it nice that Joe was able to join us for dinner tonight?"

"He's got a nice package, but not as good as that Ranger fellow" my Grandma said. My dad was busy shoveling food onto plate, but I saw him shaking his head mumbling "crazy old bat".

I ignored Morelli, the whole dinner, but when I started eating dessert he put his hand on my thigh and was inching it higher. I took an extra fork off the table, and stabbed his hand with it. He jumped up in pain, pulling the fork out. I could see blood slowly seeping out of the holes. I couldn't contain my smile of satisfaction, I looked up and I could have sworn I saw my dad chuckling. Morelli excused himself, and left.

I helped my mom clear the table, and than asked Grandma if she was ready to go. I dropped her off at the funeral home without incident, and made it back to my apartment. I went to get ready. Since Ranger didn't tell me where we going for the distraction tonight I decided to dress conservative slut. I wore a red push up bra, matching lace thong, a black skirt that hit my thigh two inches below my but, a low cut red camisole to extenuate the cleavage the bra gave me, and topped it off with cute short blak jacket.

I was looking for shoes when there was a knock at my door. I went to answer it finding Morelli standing there eying me up and down like I was dinner. I went to slam the door in his face, but he was to fast and stuck his foot in-between before it closed. He pushed the door open and backed me up against the wall. I tried to knee him, but he caught my leg. He was pissed. "Cupcake that wasn't nice stabbing me with a fork tonight". I tried to push him off me, but he wouldn't budge. " Leave Morelli, your scum and I want nothing to do with you" I yelled in his face. He was trying to take off my skirt, with me struggling against his weight. All of sudden he was thrown against the door.

"I think the lady said she wants nothing to do with you" I heard Ranger growl at him. Ranger opened the door, and through Morelli out on his ass.

He turned and looked at me and if I didn't know better I would say Ranger was emotional, but his blank masked fell back on his face. "Babe are you ok?" He asked me.

I told him I just needed a minute to get some shoes. I was bending over to strap my shoes on when Ranger came up behind me and ran his hand over my ass. I stood up turned around and he pulled me close, leaned down whispered in my ear " I can take care of Morelli for you", and then his lips came crashing down on mine. I was holding onto him, knowing after that kiss I wouldn't be able to walk straight. He pulled back and said "we better go before were late", and he pulled me out the door.

Ranger explained that we were going to bar called Chances. Bobby would be tending the bar, Lester would be inside, Tank and Ranger would wait outside for me. The FTA was out on 200k bond for rape, and attempted murder. Ranger leaned over slid his hand into my bra and attached a wire, but before he pulled back he let his thumb slide over my nipple. It hardened immediately, Ranger whispered into my ear "stay safe".

I stumbled out of the car and walked into the bar. I spotted the guy easily, he was sitting at the bar. He was 5'11", had blond hair and blue eyes, and was attractive for a slime ball. His father was politically connected and he came from money, hence why he was able to make bail.

I sat down at the bar two stools away from him. Bobby came over and asked me what I would like to drink. "a gin and tonic" I told him "and keep them coming". I downed the first drink as soon as it was set in front of me. The FTA looked over and and slid down to the seat next to me.

He leaned over and asked " what's got a beautiful lady like you so upset?" I downed my second drink before answering. I was really only drinking tonic, but he didn't know that. I tried to sound tipsy leaning on him I said " I just broke up with my boyfriend. I found him in the act, cheating on me. You know what, I'd like to get back at that pig." I drank another down, looked up and batted my eyes at him.

He pulled out a wad of cash laid it down on the bar, stood up and said "let's get out of here." I was acting drunk, clinging to him for support when we walked out the door of the bar. In an instant Tank had the guy on the ground and cuffed.

Ranger walked me over to his car, pushed me up against the door, leaned in whispered in my ear "you did good Babe". At some point he had slid his hand down my top, and removed the wire. I looked into his eyes and they were smoldering black. He leaned down and kissed me, I was breathless, and my panties were definitely ruined. He pulled back to hear the guys saying they'd see us later.

Ranger walked me up to my apartment. He made me wait outside the door while he did his usual check to make sure no one was there, or left me unwanted presents. When he was done checking everything he pulled me into the apartment.

He sat on the couch, and pulled me onto his lap. I don't think I have to tell you but my doodah was humming. He was making slow circles with his finger on my thigh, he looked into my eyes and his lips came crashing down on mine. I was jumping for joy inside, but he pulled back from the kiss.

In a husky voice he asked "you broke up with Morelli?" "Yes" I answered.

He was smirking. "Is it over for good?" I nodded yes, and he kissed me again. His hand was sliding up my shirt when I heard phone ring.

Ranger said something in Spanish under his breath, and opened his phone. "Speak" He listened for a minute, and told whoever it was "I'll be there in ten", and closed the phone.

He leaned down gave one more bone melting kiss. " Gotta go Babe" He stood up, and left me there dazed. What just happened, or would have happened if his phone didn't ring. Damn!

I had been with Ranger one glorious night a year ago, and let me tell you it was the best night of my life. Ranger once told me being with him would ruin me for all other men, and he wasn't lying. He could give a woman an orgasm with one look, but when he touched you it was like fire!

Now I need to go take a cold shower and go to bed. UH--- alone.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think of it so far.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything, everything belongs to Janet E.

Thank you to Sue for being my beta! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and read my first chapter!

Chapter 2

Ranger was kissing his way down my body, and back up. He was hard, all of 10 inches of him. I was arching my back, begging him to give me what I needed. He was just about to slip his cock inside of me when I heard a blaring noise that wouldn't stop. I grabbed my phone, but all I heard was a dial tone. I finally opened my eyes to realize it was alarm going off. Damn! I was just at the good part of my dream too. There's no way I'll be able to get back to sleep now.

I trudged into the kitchen, and made coffee. I checked in my cupboards to see if the food fairy had shown up. I spotted a box of pop tarts. At least I could have breakfast, but I found the box empty. I downed my cup of coffee, and went to take a shower.

Dressed for the day in my usual uniform of jeans and a stretchy t-shirt, I left to go to the office. I pulled up to see Lula looking out the window at me. Before I even made it to the door she was on me. "Girl you driving Batman's car. Now that you and Super Cop are finished, you need to spill. What's going on with you and Batman?"

I went to get a doughnut out of the box, when Lula came over and slapped my hand. "White girl I wanna hear about you and Batman first!" I sat down and explained to Lula and Connie what had happened with the skip yesterday, and how Ranger was just letting me borrow his car.

"Dang girl, I should have known it wasn't going to be a good story. Just once can't you come in here and give us some juicy details?" I sighed and grabbed a doughnut.

I was wiping the powder sugar off my shirt when I noticed Connie fanning herself with a file, and Lula's eyes get bugged out. It was either Ranger or Antonio Banderas, and I was almost positive it wasn't Antonio.

"Ladies, Babe." Ranger said as he walked up to Connie's desk and took the files she had waiting for him. "Babe can I talk to you outside?" I went out side with him, and pulled me into the alley on the side of the building. I was leaning against the wall and Ranger slid his hand around my waist, pulling flush against him. I licked my lips in anticipation, and that was all he needed. His lips came crashing down on mine. I was holding onto him for dear life when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked over and Tank was standing ten feet away from us. "Stay safe" Ranger whispered in my ear, and he was gone.

I stumbled my way back into the office, and collapsed on the couch. "Girl that's what I'm talking about. That dazed look on your face tells me all I need to know. That is one grade A fine piece of ass. Damn, if I didn't have my Tankie I would love to sink my teeth into him."

I sighed. " I wish I could sink my teeth into him". Connie and Lula were looking at each other smiling. "Did I miss something?"

"Girl what you need is a plan". Lula told me. Then for the next hour I listened to her and Connie come up with the perfect plan (well they're perfect plan) to get Ranger and I together. I think I zoned through most of it. Hey, you can't blame me, my mind was still in the alley with Ranger. "I need sugar", I exclaimed. " Now your talking. We can go get something at the mall, and then go shopping. You need something for tonight that screams come and get me" Lula told me.

We were in Ranger's Cayenne driving to the mall. "I love the smell of his car" Lula said. "Mmmm It's orgasmic." I moaned. Lula looked over at me and said, "Girl we gotta get you some of that fine lovin tonight. I don't know if I can take seeing that look in your in eyes much longer."

We went to the food court first. We got Big Mac's, fries, and chocolate shakes at at McDonald's. I still was feeling edgy so Lula and I headed over to Godiva, and each bought six chocolate covered strawberries. We were good to go. We headed over to Macy's.

Lula found a black and red spandex dress that was actually quite flattering on her. I think it was only one size to small, and it was long enough that it covered her ass. She said those were Tankie's favorite colors. She was helping me find something when I heard her scream. "Skinny white girl you have got to try this on!" It was a purple dress, with black lace overlay, and black lace one inch straps at the top.

When I came out of the dressing room, Lula's mouth dropped open. "If that dress don't catch Batman's attention, nothing will." I thought it looked pretty good. It was skin tight, and hugged my curves in all the right places. "Let's go get some shoes." I told Lula. Lula found a pair of 3 inch blood red FMP's to go with her dress, and I found a pair of black strapy 4 inch FMP's to go with mine.

I dropped Lula off at the office. We decided we would meet at nine tonight at a this new dance club that just opened. Lula had already called Tank to tell him we were going out. We knew that was all it would take. Tank would show up at the club for sure, and with Merry Men in tow. The only glitch is we weren't sure if Ranger would show up. I was exhausted so I went home to take a quick nap. I set my alarm for seven, and fell instantly asleep.

I actually woke up felling refreshed. I jumped in the shower, waxed and exfoliated everything. Next I put on my make-up. I went light on it, going for the natural look. Of course I did put a couple extra coats of mascara on. Hey if Ranger shows up tonight I will definitely need it. Now to work on my hair. I put some big rollers in it, and blow dried it on low. Taking the rollers out, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The big loose curls looked very sexy, and natural. I sprayed them hoping they wouldn't frizz out later. I put on my strapless black push-up bra, matching black lace thong, the dress, and the shoes.

I grabbed a black clutch purse, threw the basics in it, keys, drivers license, money, and gum. I was ready to leave, when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to find Lula sashaying into my apartment. "Damn skinny white girl, you look hot!" "Thanks Lula, you look great too." I told her. "I thought we were supposed to meet at the club." Lula looked at me like I should know what was going on. "We were, but I decided that was not going to be conducive to our plan. If you don't have a car there someone will have to give you a ride home, if you know what I mean." Lula was smiling ear to ear.

By the time Lula parked the car it was 9:15 before we made it into the club. It was a Friday night and the club was hopping. It took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the light before we spotted Connie. She was on the dance floor with Bobby. Lula and I went out to dance with them. We danced for about a half hour, and a slow song came on. Tank came up to Lula, and took her in his arms. Connie was dancing with Bobby, and I was heading over to a table. "Hey beautiful do you want to dance?" Lester asked me from behind. I turned around and said "Lead the way." We danced to two songs.

We were all sitting at a table, the guys were drinking beer and we girls were drinking margaritas. We were taking a break from dancing. Hal and Vince had even showed up. It was great, everyone talking and laughing. Another slow song came on and Lester pulled me out my chair to dance with him again. I felt that familiar tingle on the back of my neck and new Ranger was in the club. All of sudden Lester's hand started moving down lower towards my ass. Before I got a chance to smack him, I heard "Santos!" Ranger did not sound happy. Lester leaned in to whisper into my ear "See it worked like a charm." Ranger pushed Lester out of the way, and looked down at me "Babe".

The slow song had finished, but Ranger didn't seem to notice. He pulled me close to him and whispered "You look beautiful tonight babe." His eyes were so passionate that I was too stunned to say anything. When I snapped out of my daze, I noticed that Ranger was wearing black jeans and white button down shirt. "He looks so damn hot!"

"Babe." Ranger growled. Oops, I guess I said that out loud. We went back to the table. Ranger sat down, and pulled me onto his lap. He was hard and it was driving me crazy. He had one arm around me drawing circles on my hip bone with his finger.

We each had another drink, and then Lula and Tank left. Connie stood up and told us she was going call it night too. She had to open the office early tomorrow. Bobby got up to walk her to her car. Ranger looked at me, "Babe you ready to go?" "Yes." I told him, and he pulled me out the door. He led me to his car. "Ranger, how did you know that I didn't drive here?'' I asked him. He gave that look. "Oh right your Batman." I told him.

On the drive to my apartment Ranger had his hand on my thigh. He was slowly moving it up and down driving me crazy! I was so wet already, and he hasn't even done anything. Before I knew it we were at my apartment and Ranger was pulling me out of the car. He was holding onto my waist while we were walking in. In the elevator Ranger pulled me flush against him and was kissing me while unzipping my dress. I was to far gone to turn back now, I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to. What am I saying there is no way I'm stopping him!

Thank you for reading. I changed the format of this chapter a little. Please let me know what you think. M


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read the last chapter, I appreciate it greatly! A special thank you to Sue for beta-ing my story. You are a gem!

On the drive to my apartment Ranger had his hand on my thigh. He was slowly moving it up and down driving me crazy! I was so wet already, and he hasn't even done anything. Before I knew it we were at my apartment and Ranger was pulling me out of the car. He was holding onto my waist while we were walking in. In the elevator Ranger pulled me flush against him and was kissing me while unzipping my dress. I was to far gone to turn back now, I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to. What am I saying there is no way I'm stopping him!

Chapter 3

Ranger picked me up bridal style when the elevator doors opened. I have no idea how he managed to open my locked apartment door, because he never stopped kissing me. Before I knew it Ranger had slipped my dress off of me, and I was lying on my bed in only my bra, thong and shoes. "Dios Babe, what you do to me." Ranger said while raking his eyes up and down my body.

Ranger had taken off his shoes, socks, and shirt, two guns, a knife, and my shoes before joining me in the bed. He was on top of me kissing and sucking my neck, while his hands were caressing my body. In one swift motion Ranger had taken off my bra, and thong. I somehow managed to take off his pants, well with his help. Ranger's hands were caressing both of my breasts, and he was sucking on my left nipple. The thing I learned from our one night together is Ranger is an amazing lover. He likes to take his time, kissing, licking, sucking, caressing, and loving every inch of my body. It's an extraordinary experience being loved by Ranger.

My hips were bucking in anticipation and I couldn't take it any longer. "Ranger please, I need you now." I was begging him. It was like he didn't even hear me. "Carlos please." I pleaded. He stopped looked into my eyes, and he said "Babe say it again".

I couldn't believe the love I saw when looked into his eyes. "Carlos please." I repeated.

Ranger's, no this was Carlos. Carlos' mouth came crashing down on mine. He pushed his cock slowly inside of my wet center. Carlos thrust deep into me, and I came undone screaming his name. He was driving me crazy sucking, blowing, and kissing my neck, and then moving to my breasts. I could feel another orgasm building. Carlos reached in-between us massaging my clit while thrusting deeper inside me. "Carlos" I screamed. He never let up as I was riding out my orgasm. Just when I thought it was done, I was screaming his name again. This time we came together.

Carlos pulled me close to him, and I was drifted off to sleep. I woke up two hours later, my head lying on Carlos' chest and half of my body was on top of him. I looked up into his sleeping face. Carols is beautiful, but seeing him sleeping and vulnerable is amazing. "I love you Carlos." I whispered.

I was immediately flipped onto my back. Carlos was looking down at me. "Say it again querda." I smiled up at him and said "I love you Carlos."

Carlos made slow passionate love to me after that. I was drifting off to sleep when heard him say, "I love you Stephanie."

I woke up alone in bed. I was starting to cry, but then I smelled coffee. I threw on a t-shirt and ventured into the kitchen to find coffee and a bag from Tasty Pastry, but I didn't see Ranger. Nature was calling, I headed towards the bathroom and smacked right into a very naked mocha latte chest. Ranger grabbed me around my waist leaned down and gave me a kiss that made my knees go weak, and a moan escape from lips. It could also be that Ranger was standing there freshly showered wearing nothing but a towel that had my hormones in a rage.

"Babe I would love to take you back to bed, but I have a plane to catch and I want to talk to you before I leave. Go get cleaned up, and we'll talk."

I talk, Ranger does not talk. He uses 'Babe' as a sentence. Ranger wanting to have 'a talk' with me could not be good. Morelli and I are over so he can't send me back to him. I don't know if my heart could take it if doesn't want me. I went to the bathroom, and then decided to take a quick shower. He did tell me to clean up, and I needed to do something to gather the courage for the talk we were going to have. I showered quickly, and then dressed in a tight t-shirt and jeans.

Ranger was sitting on the couch waiting for me when I stepped out of the bedroom. He had a cup of coffee and a donut for me sitting on the coffee table. I walked over, my mind thinking all of the possible things he was going to say. Ranger pulled me down on his lap, and handed me the cup of coffee. "Eat Babe, then we'll talk."

I took my time eating the boston cream donut and drinking my coffee. When I finished my coffee Ranger took my cup and set it down on the table.

"Babe I need to go to Miami for a couple of days. I have a problem that I need to fix at the office, and I promised Julie I'd stop in to visit her. I should only be gone for three or four day's tops. I need you to do me a favor while I'm gone."

Ranger was looking at me for a response. "Sure Ranger, just let me know what you need" I told him. "Carlos, Babe. When it's just you and me I am Carlos."

My heart was about a leap through my chest. He wants me to call him Carlos. "Yea Babe I want you to call me Carlos". Damn esp.

"Babe I need to take a couple guys with me down to Miami, and were going to be short handed here. Can you come back to work at Rangeman doing searches?"

"Sure Carlos, I could use the extra money anyways." I told him.

"Babe I need you to do something for me. Can you stay on seven till I get back? I don't want to worry about you, and it would mean a lot to me if you stayed there."

I couldn't believe he just asked me to stay at his apartment when he was gone. Morelli would have ranted about the trouble I could get into, but Carlos just asked me. This is what I love about him, he always gives me choices.

"If it means that much to you, yes" I told him. "Grab some clothes, and I'll drop you off. I have to meet the guys in an hour to leave for the airport"

I took out my duffel bag and grabbed the essentials, underwear, bras, jeans, t-shits, socks, shoes, and my make-up bag. Carlos took the bag from me, grabbed Rex's cage, and we were off.

Carlos and I went up to seven together. He set Rex down on the counter, and gave him a carrot from the fridge. Then he set my bag down in his closet. I was amazed to see a bunch of new Rangeman clothes waiting for me in his closet. Carlos looked over to me. "Ella went a little crazy Babe. She also filled the drawers with underwear, bras, and socks for you."

"How did you know I would say yes?" I asked him. All he said was "Babe.", but I could tell he was finding this amusing.

Carlos kissed me goodbye. "Try not to go crazy Babe." he told me. I replied, "Try not to get shot."

I went to unpack my things. It seems I have more clothes in his closet than expected. I found a note from Ella. It read, "_Stephanie dear I hope you will like the things I picked out for you. Please let me know if you need anything. Love, Ella." _

I wish Ella would adopt me. I found new jeans, tops, sweaters, dresses, and shoes in the closet. Of course that didn't include my new work attire. She had purchased black cargo pants, black scoop neck stretchy t-shirts, black sweatshirts, and a black rain jacket all of which she had embroidered Rangeman on in a pretty teal color. Next I went to check out the drawers. In the dresser I found a whole drawer of multicolored socks, then a drawer of Victoria Secret Bra's with matching panties, a drawer full of black boy shorts and bras all embroidered Rangeman. The last drawer that I found shocked me. She had it stuffed full of lingerie. Don't get me wrong, it was all beautiful. I just couldn't believe Ella had bought me lingerie to wear for Carlos. She was his Aunt. OMG!

It had been about two hours since Carlos left, and I was hungry for lunch. I figured I'd grab lunch in the break room, and then see if there were any searches that needed to be done. It was Saturday but I didn't feel like going out. I was blissfully happy after last night, and if I went out to catch skips it would more than likely kill my mood.

I ate a quick sandwich, and headed over to my cubicle. I said hi to Binkie and Ram who were at the monitors. I had at least ten searches waiting for me. I guess Carlos wasn't kidding when he said they were short handed. I was finishing up my fourth search when my phone rang the Batman theme song.

"Yo." I answered. "Babe, its eight o'clock what are you doing working?" Carlos asked me. "Carlos I didn't feel like going out today, so I figured I'd see if I had work to do. You weren't kidding when you said you were short handed." "Babe why don't you head up to seven. I called Ella and had her leave dinner for you. You can finish that stuff up on Monday." Awe he is so sweet.

I went up to seven to find Ella had left me fettuccine alfredo with sausage, and a large slice of chocolate cake for desert. I took my food into the living room, and turned on the TV. The movie The Notebook was on. I ate my food while watching the movie. I woke around eleven, and headed to the bedroom.

The next morning I awoke around six-thirty. I decided to head down to gym. I know what you're thinking. Yes I do love to sleep in and I usually run away from exercise, but I felt different today. I feel like I need to start making changes. I worked out for about an hour, and headed up to take a shower. Ella had left me pancakes for breakfast. Ella is the best. I called Lula and asked if she wanted to meet me at Pino's for lunch. I had a couple hours to kill before I had to meet her, so I went down to five and did a couple more searches.

I walked into Pino's and grabbed a booth. Lula arrived ten minutes later. She sat down and started to quiz me. I held up my hand motioning for her to stop. Her mouth dropped open and she said "Huh?". "Lula let's order first, then I'll answer some of your questions." I told her.

She seemed happy with that. We ordered a large pepperoni, sausage, and green pepper pizza, garlic bread with cheese, and cokes.

"Ok skinny white girl spill. I want to know what happened with you and Batman" She told me.

"He took me home just like you suspected…" I told her. "AND??" She said. "And, he had to go to Miami on business yesterday." I told her. I knew she was getting upset, but I was having fun.

"Did he spend the night?" she asked. Ok I guess I need to tell her something.

"Lula what I'm going to tell you needs to stay private. I don't want it all around the Burg, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone." Her eyes were widened and she nodded that she understood me.

"Ranger spent the night??" I nodded yes to the question she had been dying to ask. "Lula I will not give you any details on the night. Before he left he asked me to come back to work at Rangeman. He also asked me to stay at Rangeman till he got back."

"See girl it's all working out." she said. By that time the waitress brought our order. We ate and chatted about different things. I was pleasantly surprised that Lula let me off that easy, but I guess she never really did discuss what Tank and her do much either. We went to the mall when we finished eating. I really didn't need anything since Ella had gone shopping for me. Lula bought a new pair of shoes and we walked around talking.

I dropped Lula off at her car, and headed over to my parent's house. My mother and Grandma were waiting at the door for me. "You're still driving that Ranger fellow's car?" Grandma asked me. I just nodded and went into the house. "Hi pumpkin." my dad said from his chair in the living room. "Hi Daddy." I replied. I helped my mother set the table, and carry out dinner. Valarie, Albert, and the kids came over too. It got real crazy. Albert spilled gravy all over his pants, and the girls were fighting, Grandma was asking me about Ranger's package, and my mother was tippling. As soon as I finished desert I left to go back to Haywood.

I found a game to watch on the television. A little after nine my phone rang, it was Carlos.

"Hi babe. Did you have a good day?"

"Yea. How was your day Carlos?" I asked. "Good. I did some work, and spent the day with Julie." He replied.

We talked for a half an hour, but I started to yawn. "Babe your tired, get some sleep. I love you."

"I love you too Carlos." I told him. I couldn't believe that we actually talked for that long. What even more amazing was he told me he loves me. I know he said it before, but that was when he thought I was sleeping. Every other time he had said it, it had qualifiers like in my own way.

I woke up in a great mood. Carlos loves me! I don't think I have ever been happier. I took a shower, ate breakfast, and headed down to work. "Welcome back Beautiful." Lester said. "Thanks Lester.", I told him.

I worked till about 11, ate lunch in the break room with Hal, and then went to the Bond's office.

Connie had two new files for me. They were first time offenders, both women. One was a shoplifter, and the other was domestic violence. It looks like she didn't take it well when she found her husband cheating on her. Lula went with me to pick them up. We went to find Shirley Sprumuli the shoplifter at the button factory. She went with us no problem. We dropped her off at cop shop. Next we went to Mary Truman's house. She said she would go if we promised to have her back by the time her husband got home. We had Connie meet us at the station to rebond her.

Morelli approached me at the station. "Cupcake why haven't you been staying at your apartment?" He asked me.

"It's none of your business what I do or where I stay." I told him.

Joe was approaching me and pushed me. "Steph you better not be staying with Manoso!" he yelled into my face. Carl and Big Dog came to my rescue, and pulled Joe away. I looked up and saw Lester, damn this was going to get back to Carlos. Connie took Lula back to the office with her, and I dropped Mary back at her house.

I went back to Rangeman to get a few more searches done. I was at my desk when Carlos called. "Babe are you ok?" he asked me. "Carlos I'm fine, it was nothing." I told him.

"I don't like Morelli touching you. We need to talk when I get back." And with that he was gone. I really didn't want to talk about Joe. UH!

I finished up around six, and went up to seven. I was really missing Carlos. Ella had left me Beef Stew, homemade bread, and cheesecake. I ate in front of the TV again. I put the dishes in the dishwasher and went to take a shower. I was wearing one of Carlos' t-shirts and a pair of underwear to bed. It was early, but I was tired from the long day.

Something jarred me from my sleep. I looked up to see Carlos leaning against the door watching me.

Please let me know what you think. I meant for this to be a short story, but it seemed to have taken a life of its own. Thanks for reading!

M


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read ch.3! Thank you to Sue for being my awesome beta!

Something jarred me from my sleep. I looked up to see Carlos leaning against the door watching me.

Chapter 4

Carlos made his way over to the bed, and leaned down to kiss me. "I didn't mean to wake you Babe." I tried to pull him in closer, but he shook his head no. "I'm going to take a quick shower Babe." I was a little disappointed, but I was happy he was back. I tried to go back to sleep, but thoughts of a naked Carlos kept me up. When he opened the bathroom door my nose was assaulted with the smell of Bulgari. My hormones were in full range.

Carlos slipped into bed and pulled me close. I put my hand on his chest, and was moving it lower. "Playing with fire Babe." I kept moving down to his hard shaft. "Maybe I want to get burned" I told him. In a flash he flipped me and was on top of me, kissing me and exploring with his hands. He stroked me with his fingers and pushed one inside me. He pulled it out brought it to his lips and sucked the juices off of it, and then he slid inside me. That was all it took to make me cum. His hands were all over my body, and he was driving me crazy. He whispered something in Spanish in my ear, it sounded very erotic. I was on the verge of another orgasm when he reached in-between us massaging my clit. I screamed his name as wave after wave came over me, just when I finished climaxing he came inside of me, and it pushed me over the edge again.

I snuggled up against him laying my head on his chest. "I missed you." I told him, yawning as I said it. Carlos kissed me on top of my head. "It's late Babe, get some sleep."

Carlos woke me up to tell me he was going to workout. "What time is it?" I sleepily asked. "It's only 5:00 Babe go back to sleep." He kissed my forehead and was gone. I curled up with his pillow and fell immediately back to sleep. The next time I awoke I heard the shower. It was 7:00, I decided it was time to get up. I joined Carlos in the shower. I didn't think it could get any better, but Carlos proved me wrong in the shower. I was completely sated. He carried me to the bed because my legs felt like jelly. I watched him get dressed. "Breakfast will be here in fifteen minutes Babe." He told me. He kissed me and left the room. I finally found the strength to get up and get dressed. I quickly blow dried my hair, and stuck it in a messy ponytail.

Carlos was reading the paper and eating fruit and granola, when I came out of the bedroom. I sat down and grabbed a bagel smearing it with cream cheese. I ate about half of before Carlos put down the paper, and looked at me. "What do you want to do about Morelli Babe?" He asked me. I thought I was going to choke on my bagel. I know I talk all the time, but I don't actually like to talk about serious stuff. I like to live in denial land and act like nothing is happening. I finally managed to swallow my bagel. I looked up at him pleading with my eyes. "Babe he pushed you, and he's getting out of control." I started to say something, closed my mouth, started again but I couldn't make a sound. "I'll handle it." He told me, smiling like he just won the lottery.

It took my brain a few minutes to process what he said. I'm pissed off at Joe and I would love to see that smug look wiped off his face, but no matter how much he's done to me I don't want him hurt or worse.

"No, I don't want you to hurt him. I'll talk to him." I said quickly. "I don't want you talking to him alone. I'll go with you." He told me. "That will make things worse, I'll ask Carl to go with me. We'll meet at Pino's that way will be in a public place." He eyed me and shook his head mentioning it was ok. I thought I was in the clear, but then he said "Take Lester with you too, and I'd like you to live here permanently." Damn, I thought I was going to get away without a body guard. I knew it wasn't up for discussion; it was either Lester or Carlos. Wait did he just say he wanted me to live with him, OMG! On one hand I wanted to jump for joy, but on the other I wanted to run far away.

I knew I needed to say something. "I'll take Lester." I told him. "And?" He asked. I just wasn't sure what to say. I managed to squeak out "Can I think about it?" He nodded yes.

We went down to work, and Carlos walked me to desk. "Let me know what time your meeting Morelli." He kissed me, and was gone. Damn I thought I could stall a few days, but Carlos knows me better than that. I called Carl and explained everything. He said he would meet me at 12:30 at Pino's and he'd bring Joe. I walked over to Carlos' office. He was talking with Tank, and motioned me in. "What time?" He asked me. "12:30" I replied, and went back to my desk. I had just finished up on my third search, when I looked up to see Lester standing over me smiling. "You ready to go beautiful?" He asked. I looked at the clock, 12:15. I sighed, grabbed my purse and stood up. I let him lead the way.

We spotted Morelli and Carl at a booth in the back. Carl stood up and motioned us over. He had been sitting across from Joe, but after he signaled us he sat down next to him. I slid in opposite Joe, and Lester sat down next to me. "What now you're screwing his men too?" Joe sneered at me. "Look Joe I don't want to fight. We're over, and we've both moved on. Can't we stop all of this petty shit?" I asked him. Joe looked surprised but his facial expression turned quickly to amused. "Manoso will tire of you soon enough and you'll be crawling back into my bed begging." He said. "Joe I'll never be back in your bed." I spat back at him. "You keep telling that to yourself Cupcake, and one day you might believe it". He smiled at me.

I couldn't believe him. What was it going to take for him to finally believe we're over? "I'm moving in with Ranger." Did I just say that? I can't believe what came out of my mouth. Joe looked a little shocked, but then he smiled at me saying "You've moved in and out of my house more times than I count Cupcake. It won't last." He had me there I had always kept my apartment, and when we'd get into a fight I would move back to my place. I needed to wipe that smug look off his face. "That's true, but this is different from what we had Joe. I'm moving in with Ranger, and I'm not keeping my apartment."

Joe stood up. "Come on Carl I lost my appetite." He said, and walked out the door. Lester was smiling at me. "What do you want to eat beautiful?" He asked me. I ordered a meatball sub, and Lester ordered everything else on the menu. I honestly don't know where he puts it. I took my time eating. I was a little nervous, well a lot nervous to go back to the office. I wanted to live with Carlos, but I was scared. Now I had to give up my apartment, because I opened my big fat mouth. My apartment totally sucks, but it's mine. I know I use it as a crutch, but after what happened with Dickie I wasn't sure if I could totally trust anyone. The thing is I do trust Carlos with my life, but my heart is another story. I guess now I have to make the leap, and trust him.

Carlos wasn't in the office when we got back. I went to my desk and tried to work. My mind was racing. About an hour later my phone rang, it was Carlos. My heart sped up, and I answered it barely squeaking out a yo. "Babe, I'll be back in a few hours. We're going out to dinner at seven, wear something dressy." Before I could reply he was gone. I was excited and scared. I know Lester told him what happened. Damn, Batman's taking me out.

I finished up a few more searches, before I needed to go upstairs to get ready. I took a shower did my hair and makeup. I added a couple extra coats of mascara for courage, and went in search of something to wear. Thank God for Ella. I found the most perfect midnight blue dress hanging in the closet. It was long and form fitting with a slit all the way up to my thigh on the right side of the dress. I wore a strapless black bra, and black lace thong with it. Then found some kick ass matching FMP's to go with it. Ella is the best.

Carlos walked in the bedroom at seven on the dot. He was already dressed in a black Armani suit, crisp white dress shirt and a black silk tie. He crossed over to me and kissed me senseless. Damn, he looked H.O.T.!

Sorry it took me so long to update. I promise the next chapter will be much quicker. Please review. M.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Carlos walked in the bedroom at seven on the dot. He was already dressed in a black Armani suit, crisp white dress shirt and a black silk tie. He crossed over to me and kissed me senseless. Damn, he looked H.O.T.!

Chapter 5

I wanted to rip his clothes off him right then. My thoughts were struggling I wanted to go out with Carlos, but also wanted to push him onto the bed and make love to him all night. He could tell what I was thinking. Damn esp! "Babe I would like nothing more than to make love to you all night, but I'm taking you out tonight. We have reservations, we need to leave now or we'll be late." Sometimes it's good when he makes the decisions for me. Hey I said sometimes.

We went down to the garage, and Carlos opened the passenger door to the Turbo for me. Once we were on the road heading towards Newark I asked him where we going. He looked over at me smiled. "We're going somewhere I think you'll like." Damn him his smile should be illegal! My hormones are in full rage again.

About thirty minutes later we arrived at a restaurant I never heard of called Diego's. The outside was plain, but when we went inside I was shocked. It was very elegant. There was gorgeous flowers and plants, the walls were done in old world Spanish style, there were water fountains, and a Latin Band. The Maitre'D new Carlos. "Carlos it's wonderful to see you, and who is this beautiful lady?" He asked. Carlos pulled me close to him. "Roberto this is my lovely Stephanie." He told him. "Ah Estephania, it is my pleasure to meet you." He told while kissing my hand. Carlos gave him a look, he smiled at me and led us to a secluded table.

It was just dark enough to be romantic, but bright enough to see the dance floor. The band was wonderful. Carlos sat next to me and put his arm around me. I opened the menu, but it was in Spanish. "Let me order for you." Carlos told me while nibbling on my ear. The waitress came over and filled our water glasses, and Carlos order two mojitos for us. She brought our drinks out, and was accompanied by a tall good looking man who had similar features to Carlos.

Carlos stood up and shook the man's hand, and did the male hug slap on the back. He turned to me and took my hand motioning for me to stand. "Stephanie this is my cousin Diego, this is his restaurant." Diego pulled me into a hug. "It is great to finally meet you Stephanie. You are just as beautiful as I heard. Carlos better watch out, or I might steal you away." He winked at me, and Carlos pulled me to his side and growled "mine". His cousin laughed. "Carlos you are always so serious, I was just joking." I didn't think it was possible, but Carlos pulled me closer to him. Diego was smiling. "You better put a ring on her finger soon, or she won't last long if you bring her around the family." He winked at me and walked away.

The waitress came back and Carlos ordered for us, and then took me out to the dance floor. We danced to two sensual songs, before we sat back down at our table to eat the appetizers that were delivered. Our main course was amazing, I think I moaned through the whole meal. Carlos was kissing my neck. "Have you decided what you want to do?" He asked me. I knew that he already heard the whole story from Lester, but I loved that he still wanted to hear it from me. "Yes I have." I told him, and I kissed him. Carlos deepened the kiss, and we might have gotten carried away if the waitress didn't come by to remove our plates.

He took me back to the dance floor. I couldn't believe how wonderful the evening was. I have never been on more romantic date. We ate an orgasmic flan for dessert. We decided to leave after dessert. I don't think either one of could wait much longer. Carlos held my hand on the way home. OMG I just thought home! It was going to be our home. I thought he was in his zone, but then he asked me "Would it be to soon if you we moved your stuff over tomorrow?" I guess I just need to dive into this head first so I won't lose my nerve. Don't get me wrong I want nothing more than to live with Carlos, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared. "Tomorrow is good." I told him. He smiled and squeezed my hand.

When we got into the elevator Carlos' cell phone rang. He punched the button for five and seven. "I need to take care of something real quick Babe. Go on up to seven, and I'll be up in ten minutes." He kissed me senseless and stepped out on five. I went up to seven, and decided to wear some of the new lingerie that Ella had purchased. I still feel a little weird knowing his aunt bought me lingerie. I chose a light blue lacy teddy. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and changed into the teddy.

When I stepped back into the bedroom Carlos came through the door. His eyes immediately dilated to black and he stalked over to me. He kissed me passionately, picked me up and carried me over to the bed. "Beautiful" he said to me in-between kisses. Before I knew it he shed his clothes and removed the teddy from my body. He made love to me very slowly. It was the most passionate and beautiful experience I have ever had. I didn't think our love making could get better, but he took me new heights each time.

An hour later we were both spent. He pulled me close to his side, cupped my face in his hand, looked me in the eyes and said "I love you". I had tears in my eyes. "I love you Carlos." He kissed me soundly and then I snuggled into his side and drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

Sorry this is a short chapter. I have chapter 6 done, and I will post it tomorrow. Chapter six is 3x longer than chapter five.

Thanks for reading! Please Review!

M.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Thank you to Sue for being my awesome beta! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my past chapters!

An hour later we were both spent. He pulled me close to his side, cupped my face in his hand, looked me in the eyes and said "I love you". I had tears in my eyes. "I love you Carlos." He kissed me soundly and then I snuggled into his side and drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning to Carlos massaging my breast, and his morning wood pushed up against my ass. He always knew the moment I woke up, and this time was no different. He rolled me onto my back, and kissed me then he made love to me. We snuggled after for a few minutes. "Babe I'm going to head down to the gym. It's still early if you want to go back to sleep." I looked up at him. "No, I'm going to go workout too." I told him. Carlos got the biggest smile on his face and kissed me.

We got dressed and went down to the gym. I did the treadmill, and stair climber, while Carlos did everything else. I finished my workout before him, and headed up to take a shower. When I finished getting ready Carlos came in to take a shower. He came out of the shower with towel hung low on his hips. I licked my lips. "See something you like Babe?" He asked me. We heard Ella come in with breakfast. I shook my head to clear it, and went out to help her. Carlos came out dressed a couple minutes later. He came up behind me and put his arms around me. "Babe, were taking the day off today. We need to get all of your stuff packed up and moved over here." For the first time, I had no doubt I was making the right decision. I leaned my head back into him. "Well we better eat breakfast so we can get started." I told him.

We headed over to my apartment. When we got there two black suv's were waiting for us. Cal and Binky got out of the first one, and Vince and Ram were in the second. Carlos and I went up to my apartment, and the guys followed us up with empty boxes. We packed up all my stuff, which didn't amount to much. All I had that I wanted to keep was my clothes, shoes, a couple boxes of stuff from the bathroom, one box from the living room, my cookie jar and laptop. We loaded everything up to take back to Haywood. The guys took everything up to seven, and then went back to my apartment to take everything else to The Salvation Army.

My mother called while Carlos and I were unpacking my stuff. "Stephanie what's this I hear that you moved out of your apartment, and in with that bounty hunter. I expect both of you tonight at dinner." She hung up on me before I could say a word. I stared at my phone in shock. My mother has never hung up on anyone without saying goodbye first. I think I was in shock. She didn't give me a chance to protest about going to dinner. I looked up to see Carlos staring at me intently. "We're expected at my parent's house for dinner tonight." I told him. He nodded at me and finished unpacking the box.

We finished unpacking at lunch time, and my stomach growled right on cue. "Come on Babe, let's feed the beast." Carlos took me to a small cafe close to the mall. I had a chicken ceasar wrap and chips, and he ate an oriental salad. When we finished eating, he took me over to the mall. I was thoroughly confused. "I thought we could pick out a couple things to make the apartment ours." He said. We bought a couple picture frames to put pictures of Julie and our families in, some cd's, dvd's, some candles, and some decorations to put in living room. We took it all home, and set everything up except the picture frames. We need to dig some pictures out to put in them.

I sat down on the couch taking it all in. I was truly happy. Carlos sat down next to me, and I rested my head on his shoulder. He placed a small wrapped package on my lap. "What is this?" He just looked at me and said "open it". I opened it and was stunned. It was beautiful platinum 1" long heart key charm encrusted with diamonds on an 18" platinum link chain from Tiffany. Carlos took it and fastened it around my neck. I held my hand up to my chest to feel it. I had tears in my eyes while I Carlos spoke. "Since the moment you walked into the diner four years ago you've had my heart." I kissed him. "Thank you it's beautiful. I never thought I could be this happy. I've been in live with you for so long, but I never thought our someday would come." He kissed me and then just held me.

At five o'clock, we got ready to go to my parents house. We left earlier than we needed to and Carlos stopped at wine store. "Carlos we don't need to bring anything." He looked over at me, "Babe". He picked out two bottles of very expensive wine, and we were on way. My mother and grandma were waiting for us at the door. "Stephanie, Ranger it's nice to see you again." "Thank you Mrs. Plum, but please call me Carlos. We brought some wine." "That was very sweet of you Carlos, please call me Ellen." We stepped into the house and my grandma tried to grab Carlos' ass. " Every time he comes over, the next day I'm the talk of the day at the Cut-n-Curl. If I could just get a look at his package the girls would hail me as queen." Carlos turned white. My mother called my grandma into the kitchen. I leaned over and whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry, I'll make this up to you later." His color returned to his face, and we went into the living room where my father was. "Mr. Plum." My father stood up and shook Carlos' hand. "It's good to see you again son." My father never shook Morelli's hand, and he sure had never called him son.

We went to the table. My mother made a salad, she never makes salad! She made vegetable lasagna and homemade wheat bread. I don't think she's ever made vegetable lasagna or wheat bread either. I think I entered the twilight zone. My father opened the wine. We were having a nice meal, and everyone was behaving.

My mother looked over at me and said. "When will we get to meet Carlos' parents?" I started to choke on the bread that was in my mouth. I grabbed for my wine and took a huge gulp. She continued. "I thought we could plan your wedding shower together." I was staring at her like a deer in headlights. I couldn't form words to speak. Carlos spoke up. "I'll speak to mom, but we haven't set any dates at this time." I grabbed the bottle of wine and poured another glass and downed it. My mother seemed placated. She made strawberry shortcake for dessert, and Carlos even had some. My father invited him out to the garage while I helped my mother clean up the kitchen. When dad and Carlos came back in they were laughing and my father patted him on the back. My father and mother both walked us to the door. "Thank you for a lovely dinner Mrs. Plum." "It's Ellen dear." My mother said. My father shook Carlos' hand again, and kissed me on my forehead. "Come back soon son, Pumpkin."

I was totally dazed when I got into the car. Carlos had to buckle my seat belt for me. He was chuckling. Yes chuckling! "What just happened?" I asked him. "Babe." was all he said. He took my hand kissed my fingers. We went back to Haywood. He helped me out of the car, and we took the elevator up to seven. I took a beer out of fridge, and chugged half of it. "Babe are you sure you want to drink that after having three glasses of wine?" He was right I would be miserable tomorrow. I put the beer down on the counter. His phone rang, and he was speaking rapidly in Spanish. I went into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. Carlos walked into the room and put his phone down. "We having dinner at my parents house tomorrow at five." I got up went back to the kitchen and downed the rest of the beer.

The phone rang again. "I have to go deal with a client." He pulled me to him kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry Babe, everything will be fine." He left and I got ready for bed. It was only nine, but I didn't think I could deal with much more today. I fell asleep soundly. I woke up a few hours later to go to the bathroom. My head felt a little foggy. When I got back into bed Carlos snuggled me close to him. "I had the weirdest dream. My father was calling you son, my mother was nice, and" "Babe." "Oh shit it was real." He kissed my head. "Go back to sleep Babe, everything is good." How could he say that, we're going to his parents' house tomorrow?

Carlos got up to workout and I slept through it. I woke up at eight to the cure waiting for me in the kitchen with a note from Carlos.

Babe,

Had a meeting. We need to leave at four to go to my parent's house. Wear something casual.

Love, C.

Before I got ready for work I drank my coke and ate the fries. I felt much better when I went down to work. Hal was at the monitor. "Hi Hal, is Ranger around?" "No, he and Tank had meetings all morning." "Ok, Thanks." My inbox was full so I started my searches.

Around ten o'clock my phone rang, it was Lula. "Yo." I answered. "White girl, why haven't you called me? You have some explaining to do. Why haven't you been at the office? Vinnie is furious, he just hired some new guy." I didn't think she would ever let me speak. "I miss you too Lula, but I've been busy." "Don't I know it girl. I'd be busy too if I was living with Batman. Now are you going to pick me up for lunch or what?" "Lula, I'm real busy today, but how about we have lunch tomorrow?" Lula huffed before answering. "Ok but you better not back out on me." I could hear Vinnie yelling in the background about me. Lula started yelling back, but all of sudden she got real quite. "Lula are you there." She shushed me. "I'll call you back." She whispered and hung up.

I got up to go to the bathroom and grab a bottle of water. When I reached my desk it said I had five missed calls. I checked they were all from Lula. Before I could even call her back she was calling again. I answered but didn't even say hello before she started. "Gosh skinny white girl where the hell have you been? I told you I'd call you back." I could here Connie whispering something to her in the background. What is it with all the whispering going on? "Ok." I heard Lula tell Connie. Then I heard a car door open and close, and music blaring.

"Lula are you there?" I asked. "Ya, I can talk now." "Lula can you please turn down the music I can't hear you?" She turned down the music some. "Batman walked in right when Vinnie was bitching about you, and he was calling you names. Girl you should have seen the look in Batman's eyes. I almost peed my pants. As soon as Vinnie saw him he raced into his office. Batman followed him in and closed the door. We couldn't hear a word Batman said, but Vinnie sounded like he was begging for his life. As soon as he left, Vinnie came out of his office pale as a ghost and told Connie he was going home early."

"Damn, I wish I could have seen that." I told Lula. "Girl word on the street is no one is to mess with Batman's woman or else. I guess he told Vinnie what the or else was going to be." "Lula I've got to get back to work, but let me know if you hear anything else." "You know I will girl. We're still on for lunch tomorrow right?" "Definitely, I'll pick you up at the office at twelve-thirty." We hung up and I got back to work.

While printing out some lengthy reports I had time to process what had just happened. I am now known on the street as Ranger's woman, and he just scared the shit out of my worthless piece of shit cousin. I should probably feel upset about being known as Ranger's woman, but he just stood up for me. Joe never once stood up for me to anyone, and he usually always put me down. I didn't think I could love Carlos anymore than I already did, but he proved me wrong again.

I worked until two-thirty, and headed up to seven to take a shower and get ready. I did my hair and applied light make-up. I have no idea what to wear. I met Carlos' parents twice while he was in the hospital after Scrog. They were very nice, but I didn't talk to them much. I left the room when they got their so they could be alone with Carlos. He was always so allusive, so I didn't want to intrude on a family moment. I chose to wear a khaki skirt, a pale blue top, and ballerina flats. I was ready by three-forty. Carlos came in and eyed me up and down before kissing me senseless. My legs were shaky when he walked away to take a shower. I went into the kitchen and fed Rex a carrot. "Rex I'm a little nervous, but excited too. I get to meet Carlos' parents. Do you think I look alright?" I heard Carlos walk out of the bedroom. He looked delicious! He had on a pair of light jeans, and a sand colored sweater.

It took about forty-five minutes to get to his parents house. He held my hand the whole way there, and kissed it frequently. He parked at the curb of his parents' house. They lived in an old two-story brick house. The house was very well maintained and the lawn was well manicured. He came around and opened the door for me. "I talked my mom into not inviting anyone else over tonight, but we're expected back on Saturday so my whole family can meet you." I smiled up at him. "Ok." I figure I should worry about tonight first.

We walked into the house and his mother rushed in from the kitchen. She kissed Carlos and then smacked him upside the head. "Why haven't you brought Stephanie over sooner?" She asked him. He looked sheepish. She looked at me. "Stephanie we haven't been properly introduced I'm Maria and this is my husband Ricardo." Just then Carlos' dad stepped into the room. She pulled me in to hug me. "You are more beautiful than I remember. You and Carlos will have the most beautiful babies." I didn't know what to say. I was saved by Ricardo. "Maria let the girl breathe." She stepped away and Ricardo hugged me. "She's right you know." He told me. I just smiled. What do you say to that?

We chatted during dinner. I think I have a new love. Cuban food is the most flavorful food I have ever tasted. After dinner I went to the living room with Maria and Carlos went out back with his father. She was great. She showed me pictures of Carlos as a baby. I was teary eyed thinking of how our children might look. Carlos came in and said it was time to leave. I thanked his parents. They hugged and kissed me goodbye, and told me they would see me Saturday.

I didn't know what to think about this side of Carlos. He was so relaxed tonight. I was shocked when his mother hit him upside his head. He acted like it was normal. Who is this man? Seeing pictures of him as a baby gave me longing that I tried to stifle. When my sister Val had Lisa I was enthralled. As soon as held her I knew I wanted to have a baby. My life at the time was ciaos and kept getting worse. I knew deep in my heart Morelli and I would never work out, and yes I knew then that I was in love with Ranger. I love him more than I can imagine.

"Deep thoughts Babe?" "I was just thinking about how beautiful you were as a baby." I answered. Hey I was thinking about that, I just couldn't tell him about everything I was thinking. Carlos took my hand and kissed it. I fell asleep on the ride home thinking of what it would be like to have Carlos' baby.

Please Review!

Thanks for reading!

M.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything.

Thanks to Sue for being my beta! Thank you to those that have reviewed, I really appreciate it! Someone asked if there was going to be more Joe. At this point I'm not sure. I haven't decided if I want to bash him or let him be good. He-he

"Deep thoughts Babe?" "I was just thinking about how beautiful you were as a baby." I answered. Hey I was thinking about that, I just couldn't tell him about everything I was thinking. Carlos took my hand and kissed it. I fell asleep on the ride home thinking of what it would be like to have Carlos' baby.

Chapter 7

I awoke to Carlos Picking me up out of the car. "I can walk" I said, but I yawned interrupting myself half way through. "Go back to sleep querida." Carlos pulled me closer to him and carried me to the elevator. The next time I woke up it was seven in the morning. There was note from Carlos.

Babe,

Went down to work.

Love,

C.

I could get used to him leaving me notes. I decided to hit the gym before going to work. I walked on the treadmill for forty-five minutes before heading upstairs to get ready. I showered, dressed, and had a quick bagel smothered in strawberry cream cheese.

I went down to my desk, and said hi to Cal who was at the monitors. I worked until just after noon, and went to tell Carlos I was going to lunch with Lula. I knocked on his office door before entering. He was busy going over paperwork when walked in. He looked up and smiled at me. "Babe" "Just wanted to let you know I was going out to lunch with Lula."

"Connie just called. Can you pick up the file she has for Rangeman?" "Sure." Carlos got up and crossed the desk to me. He pulled me tight and kissed me sweetly.

"Can I drive the Cayenne again?" I asked. "Babe you don't have to ask." "Thanks but I need to go car shopping soon. "Babe we have more than enough cars. You don't have to get another one." "Carlos those are your cars. I don't want to take advantage of you." "Babe you're not taking advantage, I want you drive my car. I need to know you're safe. How about you drive the Cayenne 'till you save enough to buy a new car. I mean a brand new car not a death trap." I didn't know what to say. I stared at him trying to decide. "Please Babe." Damn him he knows I can't say no when he pulls out his please card. "Ok, but as soon as I save enough money I'll buy my own car." He kissed me again and pushed me out the door placing the keys in my hand. I looked down and noticed they were on a new key chain. The key chain was engraved BABE, and had a heart shaped diamond at the top. Awe, how sweet. Wait, how did he know I would say yes? He's too good at this.

I drove over to the bond's office. Connie was filing her nails and Lula was sitting on the couch waiting for me. "Connie can have the file for Rangeman?" She looked up at me with a smirk. "Sure but first you need to tell me if all the rumors are true." I explained that what she heard about Joe and I fighting in Pino's was true, and yes I was now living with Carlos. She seemed happy and handed over the file.

Lula and I were heading out the door when Vinnie walked in. He looked scared when he saw me. "Steph I'm sorry for what I said about you. If you want the job it's still yours." "I heard you hired someone new, and I'm working full time at Rangeman now." He still seemed scared. "Well, if you change your mind, the jobs yours again." He ran into his office after saying it. I looked over to Connie. "What was that?" Connie shrugged. "Ranger must have put the fear of God in him. I've never heard him apologize to anyone except Ranger."

Lula and I went to Cluck-n-Bucket. As soon as we sat down she started. "Girl Batman's got Vinnie scared shitless. I've never seen him as scared as he was yesterday, and now him apologizing." I contemplated what she said. "I wasn't sure what to do about the office, but since Vinnie hired a new guy and I'm working full time at Rangeman I guess I don't need to worry." Lula put down her chicken leg. "Damn, we're going to miss you." "I can still stop in to visit." She smiled at that, but we both knew that it wouldn't be the same thing. We finished our food. "Ok let's get some ice cream and you can tell me what's going on." Lula said.

We got ice cream and went to the park to sit on a bench. "Ok Lula I'll tell you, but have to promise not to tell anyone. I don't want every detail getting around the burg." Lula humphed. "Girl I ain't going to tell no one." "Ok. Well you already know what happened with Joe, and that I'm living with Ranger. We had dinner at my parent's house, and at his parent's house." Lula cut me off. "Girl you've been to the Bat parent's house?" "Yeah and I really liked them. His mom showed me pictures of him as a baby." "Now that is something I would love to see, Batman's baby bottom. Mmm" Lula looked over to me. "Girl you got that look in your eyes." I furrowed my brow. "What look?" I acted innocent. "The baby look." I tried to distract her but then she shocked me saying. "Maybe Tankie and I can have a baby at the same time you and Batman do." We both giggled like little girls at that. "You never know." I finally said." We joked about it all the way back to the office.

I knocked on Carlos' door to drop off the file. "Thanks Babe. How was lunch?" I sat down in the chair across from him. "It was interesting. Vinnie apologized to me." Hmm that was all he could say hmm. "Babe" Damn esp! "What else did he say?" "He told me I still had my job with him." Carlos didn't seem to like that, and his blank face slammed down. I know I was baiting him, but he done it to me too. "I told him I'm working here now." His lipped turned in an almost smirk. "I won't work for him, but you need to let me in the field sometimes." "No problem Babe, but all employees have a partner when they go out in the field." I nodded ok. I walked out of his office, and I could see him smiling.

The rest of the day went pretty quick. I was doing an in-depth search when Carlos came up beside me. "Babe it's six, Ella has dinner waiting for us." I turned off the computer and went up to seven with Carlos. We ate dinner and watched Pirate's of the Caribbean on dvd. The rest of the week went by quickly. Before I knew it was Saturday morning. I awoke that morning to Carlos kissing down my body. "It's Saturday I need to get ready." Carlos sighed. Yes sighed! "Babe it's seven in the morning we don't need to be there till two o'clock." "But I'm meeting your whole family." Carlos leaned in and whispered a bunch of things he needed to do to me before we left. I was so wet all I could think of was him. His made love to me for two hours, and then we went into the shower for another hour.

I blow dried my hair, pinned the sides up leaving a couple ringlets loose to frame my face. Did light make-up, just enough to make me look put together. I was searching for something to wear when Carlos walked in. He looked deliciously handsome in faded blue jeans, and a dark blue stripped Armani dress shirt. "Yum." "See something you like Babe?" I think my eyes glossed over. "We need to leave Babe, but I'll make it up to later." He gave me a wolf grin and left the room to make a phone call. I chose a cute pair of black capri pants, a black tank top, a teal baby-doll top, and cute black sandals.

I was fidgeting the whole way to his parent's house. "How many people will be there?" "Babe." "How many?" "Not sure Babe." I was lost in thought and didn't realize we had arrived. Carlos opened my door and took my hand kissing it. I looked around and saw lots of cars. Instead of going through the front door, Carlos led me around to the back of the house. We entered the gate and the backyard was filled with about sixty people. Everyone stopped to look at us before returning to there conversations.

First I was introduced to Carlos' sister Celia, her husband Juan and their three children. "It's nice to finally meet you Stephanie." Celia told me. "It's nice to meet you too Celia." She pulled Carlos close and looked at me very seriously. I gulped. "Don't let him get away with anything Stephanie. He's always gotten his way, you need to make sure he behaves." She winked at me and smacked him on the head. I laughed and was pulled back into Carlos' arms.

Next was His brother Emanuel. Emanuel tried to take my hand, but Carlos growled at him. A beautiful woman sporting a very pregnant belly came up behind him and smacked him. She smiled at me. "This one belongs to me." She pointed her thumb at Emanuel as he put his arms around her waist. "I'm Felicia. Please excuse my husband. He loves to goat Carlos." Carlos kissed her cheek. "I don't know how you put up with him Felicia." He told her. She laughed and put her hands on her pregnant belly. I found out that they had a two year old boy and were expecting twin girls.

Carlos' sisters Carmen and Delia came over to meet me. They pointed out their husbands Fernando and Roberto who were under the covered porch watching their children. I met some of Carlos' aunts, uncles, and cousins. I didn't know how I would ever remember all of their names. His mother came up and gave us both a big hug and kiss. "I'm sorry I've been busy in the kitchen Stephanie and I didn't know you had arrived." Before I could reply she whispered something into Carlos' ear. Carlos nodded to his mother. He took my hand and pulled me into the house.

We entered the kitchen and Carlos went up to the short elderly woman that was stirring something on the stove. She turned around and put down the spoon she was holding. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She beamed at him pulling him down and cupping his face in her hands. She spoke to him rapidly in Spanish. She glanced over to me and let go of Carlos. She walked over to me and spoke to me in Spanish pulling me into a big hug. When she pulled back she smiling brightly. "Babe this is my Abuela Rosa." "It's nice to meet you Abuela Rosa." Carlos interpreted for me. She smiled at him and went off in rapid Spanish again. She hugged me again and left the room. "What did she say?" I asked Carlos. "Babe." was all he said before taking me back outside.

We ate and mingled with his family. Someone came up behind me, picked me up and spun me around. "Beautiful you are looking great!" He told me, but not before hugging me to him and placing a kiss on my lips. Carlos growled "Mine", and pulled me in front of him holding me close. "Lester what are you doing here?" I asked. Carlos answered for him. "Babe Tia Anna is Lester's mother." I had almost forgotten they were cousins. Lester ran off to talk to someone else.

A couple hours later we were sitting on the patio with Carlos' immediate family. His aunts, uncles, and cousins had left. Ricardo brought out a box of cigars and a bottle of brandy. Maria looked over to me. "Come on ladies it's time for us to go inside." We all got up to go in. They settled all of the children in family room with a movie. All of the women went into the kitchen. Maria, Celia, Felicia, Delia, and I were cleaning up. Carmen was feeding a bottle to her six month old son.

We heard the kids fighting in the other room. Carmen came over to me. "Stephanie, can you please feed Eli while I go settle down the kids?" I opened my mouth to answer but before I had a chance to she put Eli into my arms, and handed me his bottle. I sat down in the chair she vacated. Eli snuggled up close to me while I fed him his bottle. He was perfect. He had straight black hair and big brown eyes that were drooping fast. Carmen came back in smiled at me and left the room again. Carlos came in about ten minutes later. I didn't notice at him at first because I was staring down at the baby. I looked up at Carlos and smiled. "Time to go Babe." Maria came over to kiss him goodbye, then she kissed my cheek and took the baby from me. We said bye to everyone else, and Ricardo walked us to the door. He hugged me saying "We'll see you soon Stephanie."

Carlos held my hand on the way back to Haywood. He kept looking over at me. "Do you want to talk?" I asked him. "Babe." I wasn't sure how to take that babe. "Carlos." I replied. He smirked. I guess I was going to have to start. "I thought today went well. I didn't embarrass myself." He looked over at me. "Babe today went great and you are perfect." Awe isn't he sweet. "Eli seemed to like you Babe." Now were getting to why he kept looking at me. I just don't know what he thought about me holding the baby. Hmm. "Babe you looked very natural holding him." He seemed happy with this. "I have held babies before, just not recently." I told him.

We pulled into the garage and went into the elevator. Carlos pulled me close to him and whispered into my ear. "Babe you looked very sexy holding the baby." Damn he made wet instantly. We stripped on the way to the bedroom, and he pushed me down on the bed kissing me the whole time.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Thank you to my sister Jackie for betaing my chapter!

This chapter is for everyone who liked Morelli bashing, and those who asked for more. Enjoy!

We pulled into the garage and went into the elevator. Carlos pulled me close to him and whispered into my ear. "Babe you looked very sexy holding the baby." Damn he made wet instantly. We stripped on the way to the bedroom, and he pushed me down on the bed kissing me the whole time.

Chapter 8

I woke up Sunday morning to Carlos kissing my neck, and his hand caressing my breast. "Didn't I satisfy you last night?" I asked him sleepily. "Babe I can never get enough of you." Damn that man sure knows how to get me hot and bothered. I turned my head and his mouth came crashing down on mine. It was hot, desperate and down right sexy. Before I could react he had me flipped onto my back and was pushing his hard cock slowly into me. He bit my neck driving me insane. I needed to feel him deep inside me, but he was going to slow. "Carlos please." "Please what Babe?" I think he likes to torture me. "I need you deep and hard inside me." I finally managed to say. Carlos slammed deep into me, and I moaned in appreciation. He lifted my leg up on his shoulder, driving further inside me as I came hard and fast. As soon as I rode out my orgasm he picked up his speed, pounding into me. I came over and over screaming his name. He spilled his seed inside of me setting me off again like a rocket. I saw stars as my eyes drooped closed.

I woke up to Carlos looking very worried over me. "Babe are you ok?" I was a completely sated woman. "Oh yeah Batman, I'm good." He laughed out loud while pulling me snug up against his side. "You never disappoint Babe." I smiled. "Neither do you Carlos." I fell back asleep snuggled in Carlos' arms.

The next time I woke up the light was streaming in through the curtains, and Carlos wasn't in bed. I looked over and saw a note on his pillow telling me he went down to the gym. I decided to go down and walk on the treadmill. I went down and walked for forty-five minutes, and Carlos and I headed up to seven together. I was a little sore from all of our bedroom activities. We showered together. All I can say is showering with the Cuban Sex God is something I will never get tired of. Carlos is sight to behold. He washed my hair and body for me without even trying to have sex with me. Oh sure he gave extra attention to my breasts and butt, but he always seems to know exactly what I need.

While we were eating breakfast my phone rang. I was a little surprised to hear my Grandma on the other end. "Hi baby granddaughter. How are you?" "Fine Grandma. Shouldn't you be at church?" "We went to the early mass, and just got back. I have a party to go to at the senior center tonight. Can you take me to the mall so I can get a new dress? Your mother the prude is refusing to take me." "Sure Grandma, I'll see you in an hour. Bye."

"Babe." "Grandma has a party tonight and asked if I could take her to the mall shopping." "I'll catch up with some paperwork while your out. Do you want to catch a movie later?" "I would love to." I gave Carlos a kiss before I got up to get ready. I tried to walk away, but Carlos pulled me down on his lap. "Buy something for yourself while your out Babe." He handed me an Elite American Express Credit Card with my name on it. "Carlos I can't take this." "Please Babe. I have more money than I can possibly spend, and I like being able to buy you things. It will mean a lot to me if you would take this and use it." I wasn't sure what to do. I don't want to feel like he's supporting me. Joe always said if I married him I can quit my job, and have his credit cards. "Babe, your over thinking this. Please take it. If it makes you feel better we can discuss the bill when it comes." hmm. "Ok, but we're going to discuss the bill."

My mother was waiting at the door when I pulled up at the house. I walked in and she pulled me into the kitchen. "Stephanie, thank you for taking your grandmother today. I just can't stand taking her shopping. Please don't let her get to carried away. I know it's hard to control her, but please help her buy something half way respectable." "I'll try my best mom." I sat down at the table and my mom placed a cup of coffee in front of me. The donuts were still on the table. I had a boston creme with my coffee. My grandma came into the kitchen just as I was finishing my coffee.

My grandma wanted to go Hot Topic and some store Leather and Chains, but I convinced her that Macy's was a better option. Of course I had to promise her we'd go to Victoria Secret's after Macy's. I helped her pick out a black dress that hit just below the knees. It was tank style on the top, but it was a big improvement over the purple strapless dress she wanted. It was respectable, even though it would look much better on someone thirty or forty years younger. We went to Victoria Secret's and I talked grandma into a bra fitting. She bought a black push up bra, and black lace thong. Yes I said thong. Wince. I found a cute tank and boy short pajamas in black trimmed with bright blue lace. I figured if I was going to use the credit card, this is something Carlos would enjoy too.

We were walking out to the car and I spotted Morelli waiting outside of Macy's. "Cupcake I need to talk to you." I kept walking with grandma, and we put the bags in the trunk. Grandma got into the car and I went to get in when Morelli grabbed my arm yanking me out of the seat. "I need to talk to you." He spat at me. My phone was in the car with my purse. "Joe your drunk, let me go." I pushed him away. He grabbed my arms even harder. "You need to come home Cupcake. This has been going on long enough. I'll forgive you for going off with Manoso, but you need to come home with me now." I kneed him in the nuts, and I could tell he was hurting, but he was so drunk that it just infuriated him. "I didn't want to do this Cupcake, but your not giving me a choice." I felt the sizzle, and it was lights out.

I was very groggy, but I could feel Carlos holding me. "Babe." I could hear the tension in his voice. "Carlos." "Your ok Babe, I got you." I opened my eyes. "Where's grandma?" "She's fine Babe. She's giving her statement to Robin." I looked around. Carlos was sitting on the ground with his back leaned up against the Cayenne, and he was cradling me in his arms. There were a couple of cop cars with flashing lights. "Morelli?" Carlos placed a kiss on my head and sighed. "They arrested him babe. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you Babe. Your grandma called me from your cell and told me what was going on, I was on my way here when she dropped the phone. I couldn't hear what was going on. She saved you Babe. When she saw Morelli stun you she pulled your gun on him. He was about to drag you away, but she held your gun to his head till I got here. I called the police on my way here, and they arrived just after me. They took Morelli into custody right away."

I was crying from listening to what happened. I could see the fear in Carlos' eyes. I hate when I scare him. I now know that all of those times he saved me, the look in eyes was love. How stupid I was to have never seen it before. I was to scared to let him know I was in love with him for so long. I wasted two years with Joe, when the whole time all I wanted was Carlos. "I love you." I told him. Robin came up to us at that moment. "Steph can I take your statement, or would you rather come down to the station tomorrow?" Carlos squeezed my hand. "No let's get this over with." I relayed everything that happened before I was stunned.

Carlos drove the car back to my parents. I was in the passenger seat and my grandma was in the back. When we pulled up to my parent's house Carlos turned around to talk to my grandma. "Edna, I cannot thank you enough for what you did today." My grandma interrupted him. "There's no need to thank me Ranger. We both love Steph, and do what we need to do to keep are loved one's safe." Carlos got her bags from the trunk, and walked her to the door. I could see my mother hug Carlos, and my father shake his hand.

On the way home he pulled my hand to his lips kissing each finger. He refused to let me walk, and carried me into the elevator. He didn't set me down till he walked into our bathroom. He turned on the water and filled the tub. He undressed me, his eyes turning very dark. I could tell he was extremely upset. "Carlos what's wrong?" I looked down and saw the deep purple bruises on my arms where Joe had grabbed me. Carlos kissed my bruises. I could tell he was trying to control his rage. "Promise me you'll go down to the station tomorrow and officially file charges." I nodded yes. I could feel some of the tension leave his body. He undressed himself, and slid into the tub. "I need to hold you Babe." I got in the tub, my back to his front. We stayed like that till the water got cold.

Carlos and I pulled on sweats and went out to the living room to watch a movie. My stomach started making itself known. It was already 5:30 and I skipped lunch. "Babe pick out a movie while I call Ella and ask her to send something up to eat." I smiled at him. "Thanks." He kissed me on the top of my head and went to call Ella. I picked Ghost Busters. I needed some comfort. I never thought Joe would actually hurt me, but today he proved me wrong. Ella brought me up macaroni and cheese, and a big slice of chocolate cake. She brought a grilled chicken salad for Carlos. We ate on the couch, and I snuggled up to Carlos when we finished eating. I feel instantly asleep.

I woke up in bed with Carlos holding me. "What time is it?" "Ten." Wow I slept for four hours. "Babe you had an excruciating day, your body needed the rest." Damn esp. I got up to go to the bathroom, and Carlos wasn't in the room when I came back. I went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water before heading into the living room where Carlos was. He just closed his phone when I walked in.

"Babe we need to talk." If I had a blank face it would have slammed down at that moment. Carlos sat on the couch and pulled me down to lay across his lap. My head was resting on his arm. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, and he sighed.

"Stephanie." Shit he's using my full name.

"Babe I don't know what I would do if you lost you. I need to know your safe. I can't believe your grandma did what she did today, and I'm so thankful that she was there."

I started to say something, but Carlos put a finger on my lips.

"Please just hear me out Babe. I've always been scared that one of my enemies will come after you, but then there was Scrog and now Morelli. I can't lose you. I know you hate to have bodyguards, but I need to know your safe. If I can't be with you, will you please take one of my men anytime you go out? I know it's asking a lot, but I don't think I could survive losing you."

I couldn't believe the emotion on his face and in his voice. I know if lost him I wouldn't be able to function, that's why I was so scared to let him know how I felt about him.

"Carlos you know it won't be easy for me, but I'll try my best." He pulled me close and kissed my head. "Thank you."

I yawned. "Come on Babe, your still tired and it's late." Carlos carried me into the bedroom. "I love you." It told him. "I love you to querida." I fell asleep snuggled tightly snuggled against Carlos' body. I woke to Carlos bringing me breakfast in bed. "Mmm a girl could get used to this." Carlos kissed me. "Good because I want to spoil you." Awe. I ate while Carlos sat next to me on the bed. He had a protein shake. Yuk. When I finished I looked over at him. "You already showered?" "I have a busy morning Babe. We need to head to the police station, and then I have a conference call. Go take a shower." He smacked my ass when I got up.

We went to the police station and I filed charges. It was hard, but I knew I had to do it. We went back to Haywood. Carlos went to his office, and I went to my desk. He came out an hour later and sat down in the chair next to me. "Babe I need to go to New York for a couple days to meet with a client. Will you go with me? You can shop when I'm not around, and we can go to a Broadway show at night." "I'd love to go, but I should check with my boss to see if I can take off." He wolf grinned at me. "Oh I'm sure we can work something out Babe." He leaned in and kissed me senseless. "We leave in the morning Babe." And he was gone. Have I told you how much I love that man.

Please let me know if you liked the chapter!

Thanks for reading!

M.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry itme so long to post. Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I greatly appreciate it.

Thank for to my sister Jackie for her great beta work.

If you want to get the full effect for this chapter go to .com/newyorkfs/guest_rooms_and_suites/ty_warner_

_Chapter 9_

_Carlos kissed me good morning. "Mmm what time is it?" I asked him. He kissed me again before answering. I tried to pull him down onto the bed with me. "Babe, I would love too, but it's seven, and we need to leave in an hour."_

_I shot straight up and ran to the bathroom. "Why didn't you wake me sooner? I still need to pack." _

_I could hear him laughing at me. "Babe, Ella already packed both of our suitcases. Take your shower, breakfast will be here when your done."_

_I showered quickly, ate breakfast and finished getting ready. Thank God for Ella. She even had a very stylish pantsuit waiting for me to wear. _

_When we went down to the garage. I spotted Lester and Bobby leaning against one of the suvs. Lester looked over at me and smiled before saying. "I think you get more beautiful everyday Bombshell." I could see Carlos shoot him a dirty look. Most men would cower if he looked at them that way, but Lester just laughed and hopped into the suv. _

_We took the Mercedes. Pulling out I noticed Lester and Bobby behind us. Carlos took my hand and kissed it. "Babe, please remember that I love you,and I need you to be safe. Just think you have two men to carry all your shopping bags." I nodded my concession to him. Carlos turned on a classical cd, and I really tried to stay awake. I woke up to hear horns beeping all around us. "Where are we staying?" I asked. Carlos lips tilted up in an almost smile. "In Manhattan." He replied. _

_"__OK. What hotel are we staying at?" I asked. His lip tilted up a little higher. I think I was amusing him. "You'll see." He told me. Batman humor. I guess I would have to wait. _

_Forty-Five minutes later we pulled up in front of The Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan. The valet opened the door for me, and Carlos ushered me inside. The hotel was not what I expected at all. There was marble everywhere. I could only imagine how expensive this place was. The hotel manager came over to speak with us. _

_"__Mr. Manoso, it is a pleasure to have you staying with us again. Miss Plum ,it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sergei Lamont." He took my hand and kissed it. "Please call me directly if there is anything you need. Mr. Manoso I have left everything you requested in your suite. Here is the access card to the elevator and suite." _

_Carlos led me in the opposite direction of the hotel elevators. I was about to ask him where we were going when a gentleman appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Mr. Manoso, Miss Plum, I am Franz your butler, at your service." He said with a slight bow, then escorted us into __a private elevator. It went straight up to the penthouse suite, on the 52__nd__ floor. My mouth dropped open when I stepped into the suite. Before I could say anything Franz spoke. "As per your instructions, I will escort Mr. Brown and Mr. Santos up after they have checked in to their suites, and lunch shall be served in thirty minutes." He was gone when I turned back around._

_I was speechless. Carlos closed my still open mouth, and took my hand. "Babe" I could tell he was very amused with me. "Carlos you've got to be kidding. We can't possibly be staying here. This must cost a fortune." I started to walk over to the elevator. Carlos pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately. He stared me straight in the eyes before saying "Stephanie I want to indulge you in the finer things in life. Please let me spoil you while we're here." I knew he was serious because he used my full name, and he said please. He knows I never say no when he says please. I nodded yes, and he kissed me again. _

_His phone rang and I took the opportunity to explore the suite, and I do mean explore. It was massive! There were nine rooms. Yes, nine! It had floor to ceiling bay windows with 360 degree views of the whole city. I could see the Statue of the Liberty, Central Park, and all of downtown Manhattan. The cathedral ceilings were 25 feet high. The living and dining area walls were covered in mother of pearl, and there was a four foot cut glass chandelier that hung above the dining table. It had a marble fireplace and four french doors that led out to a balcony with glass railings._

_The breakfast room opened to it's own 700 foot balcony that overlooked Central Park. There was a library filled with books encased in elaborate bookshelves. It had another chandelier, this one was in gilded bronze. The room had a chess table, and a Bosendorfer grand piano. There was half bath that was bigger than mothers bathroom. It had an outdoor zen garden and a gym. _

_I stepped into the master bedroom. I know after seeing the rest of suite I shouldn't have been shocked, but it took my breath away. It was like being in a dream. The king size Thai canopy bed was exquisite. The room had french doors that led to another balcony that overlooked Central Park. The dressing room was clad entirely in leather, and it was filled with designer clothes and shoes __**in my size**__. The bathroom was covered from floor to ceiling in onyx. It had an infinity-edge bathtub, glass enclosed shower, and another balcony. _

_Carlos startled me when he came up behind me. He put his arms around me. "Babe I would like nothing more than spend hours with you in the bathroom, but I have a meeting in an hour. The guys are in the other room waiting to eat also. I turned around and kissed him, and we made our way out to the dining area. The table was set with china and crystal, and the food smelled heavenly. We sat down to eat and Franz served us. All three men were staring at me with pained looks on there face. Oops I must have been moaning. I gave them a sheepish look. "Sorry." I told them._

_After we finished eating Carlos left for his meeting. He told Lester to stay out of the bedroom before he left. Lester and Bobby walked around exploring the suite. Lester called over to me from the doorway of the bedroom. "Damn beautiful the things I'd" He didn't finish because Bobby punched him. I could hear Bobby yelling at Lester. I couldn't make out all of the words, __but I did hear Ranger and kill him. Lester came out saying "Sorry beautiful, but damn this place is like life styles of the rich and famous." _

_We went to explore the rest of the hotel. There were two restaurants and three bars/lounges, a state of the art Spa, a fitness room, sauna, steam room, whirlpool, an art gallery and banquet rooms that were more lavish than anything I've ever seen. We left the hotel and took a walk through Central Park. We were walking back towards the hotel when Bobby's phone rang. I listened to him answer. "Brown. Central Park. Five minutes." You've got to love they're phone manners. He looked over at me. "Ranger is waiting for you in the suite." Bobby and Lester escorted me into the suite. Carlos told them to be here at seven in the morning. They looked elated and rushed back to the elevator. _

_I looked over at Carlos, and he was chuckling at the guys. "Are you sure it's OK to let them loose in the city?" I asked him while chuckling too. "They looked like kids that had been given the keys to candy store." _

_"__Don't worry Babe, they won't get into too much trouble." Carlos walked into the bedroom, and I followed. "Babe, I have a business dinner in the hotel restaurant that I'd like you to attend with me. I'm going to take a shower, and then the bathrooms all yours. We need to leave in an hour and a half." I went to the dressing room to peruse through the clothes for something to wear. I decided to wear an emerald green tee length dress. I found a bra and panty set in one of the drawers that was almost an exact match. I noticed silver shoes with green accents that would look fabulous with the dress. _

_Carlos came out and kissed me wearing nothing but at towel and a smile. If he didn't push me into the bathroom and close the door, I would have had my way with him right there. I took my time in the bathroom, making sure I looked as sophisticated as possible. I went to get dressed, and Carlos walked in while I was putting on my shoes. He was dressed in an Armani business suit. Yum!_

_"__Babe you look amazing, but your missing something." I looked myself over. Carlos came over to me with a large jewelry box. He opened it to reveal a diamond and emerald necklace, earrings and bracelet. I opened my mouth to say something, but Carlos kissed me then put his finger on my mouth to shh me. _

_I put on the earrings and bracelet, and Carlos fastened the necklace for me. _

_We made our way down to the restaurant. Carlos introduced me to Bill Cotov and his wife Trina. Dinner lasted much longer than we had expected. Trina was very nice and explained how she usually didn't go to dinner meetings with her husband because most of the wives she had met were rude to her. Bill was handsome, and she confided in me that most of the women would hit on him in front of her. Of course with Carlos, she noticed I seemed to have the same problem. Luckily for both of us, our men seemed to only have eyes for us. Bill and Carlos made an appointment to meet the next day to sign contracts, and Trina made me promise to call next time we come back to New York._

_Once we reached our suite Carlos pulled me to him. "Babe if it weren't for you I wouldn't have got the contract. Bill was meeting with a couple different companies, but his wife gave him the nod confirming that he should go with us." I was utterly shocked. "Carlos, I didn't do anything __but make small talk with Bill. I spent the night talking with Trina." He kissed my forehead and then said. "Most people dismiss Trina as unimportant, but her stepfather was the one who actually started their company. It's not public knowledge, but she has the final say on all contracts." Wow, all I did was talk with her. _

_"__Babe why don't you get undressed while I fill the tub for us." Carlos said as we went to the bedroom._

_I undressed and went into the bathroom. "Carlos how did you manage all of this?" I asked. The bathtub was filled, and there were candles lit around the whole bathroom. _

_Carlos gave me one of his patented two hundred watt smiles before replying. "Babe." _

_I guess I'll have to be more specific. "Carlos, I heard you start the water for tub. How can it already be filled?" He shook his head and chuckled. "Babe the faucet is designed to fill the tub in only a minute." Hmm I'll have to see if I can convince him into putting one in at home._

_We took an extra long bath. Carlos made sure I was completely sated. He had to carry me to the bed, and we fell asleep in each others arms. The next morning Carlos kissed me goodbye, saying he was off to a meeting. I went back to sleep for a few hours. I decided to climb out of bed around eight-thirty. I dressed quickly, and went out to the kitchen in search of coffee. _

_Bobby was sitting at the table reading the paper, and Lester was sleeping on the couch. "Morning Bobby." I mumbled reaching for the coffee carafe that was in the middle of the table. Bobby looked up from the paper. "Morning Steph." _

_Franz seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Good morning Miss Plum. Breakfast." He placed a huge covered platter in the middle of the table. He took off the cover, and my stomach instantly growled. The platter was filled with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, English muffins, and Belgian waffles. Franz asked if I needed anything else. I looked up at him and smiled. "I might need to bring you home with me." I told him. He blushed profusely. Bobby took pity on him and told him we were fine._

_Lester must have smelled the food because he came over to the table. "Ugh." He grunted. I laughed. "Late night Lester." He looked at me with a crooked smile, and then he replied. "It might have been a late night Beautiful, but it was well worth it." I should have known better than to ask Lester. Bobby laughed and told me "He's a bit hungover Steph." It was hard to believe Lester was hungover. He ate four times the amount food I did. He ate six pieces of bacon, five sausages, three English muffins, a plate of scrambled eggs, and two Belgian waffles. I was in awe. _

_I went to shower. The phone rang when I stepped out of the shower. I put on the big fluffy hotel bathrobe, and ran to answer it. "Yo." It was Carlos. "Babe, why do sound out of breath?" He asked. _

_I explained about being in the shower, and running to get the phone. "Babe, I'll be in meetings till late this afternoon. You have an appointment in the hotel spa in a half hour. Why don't you go shopping when your done, and I'll meet up with you later." Before I could reply Carlos said he had to go, and hung up. _

_I dressed and Bobby and Lester escorted me down to the spa. "OK guys I think I can take it from here." I told them. There is no way I was going let them come in with me. Lester gave me huge smile. "Awe why can't I come in with you Beautiful?" Bobby saved me pulling Lester out the door, yelling over his shoulder. "We'll wait for you in the lobby."_

_I walked up to the desk, and gave my name. The lady at the desk gave me a huge smile. "Oh yes Miss Plum, Mr. Manoso took care of everything. Here is a list of the treatments, please let me know if there is anything you don't want, or if there is anything you'd like to add." I looked at the list. It had a hour massage, a manicure, pedicure, facial, a Brazilian wax, and a style and set. I couldn't believe he booked all of that, but I knew Carlos would be disappointed if I didn't accept it. I smiled at her. "Everything is fine."_

_I emerged four hours later. I was extremely relaxed. They did the Brazilian first, and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. The massage was next, followed by the facial, manicure and pedicure. After all of that they washed and styled my hair in a very sophisticated up-due. I felt like a new woman. Lester and Bobby whistled at me when I stepped out of the spa. I blushed. I hate being the center of attention. "Did you guys already eat, or do you want to grab some lunch?" I asked them. We went to the hotel restaurant to have a late lunch. I figured I better eat light since I had no idea what Carlos' plans were for the evening. By the time we finished eating it was three o'clock. Bobby's phone rand while we exited the restaurant. "Steph, Ranger just finished up his last meeting. Do you want to wait here for him, or have him meet us somewhere?" I smiled up at Bobby. "Let's just wait in the suite for him." I replied. _

_When we got back to the suite and I headed to the bedroom. I sat down with a book in the chaise lounge overlooking a spectacular view of Central Park. I woke up to Carlos kissing me. "I must of dozed off." I told him. _

_"__Babe did you enjoy the spa?" Carlos asked. "Thank you, it was great." I told him._

_Carlos sat down on the chaise with me and pulled me close. "I thought we'd could go see a Broadway Show tonight, and then go out dinner afterward. How does that sound to you Babe?" I wonder what show he was taking me to. "Rock Of Ages." Carlos said. I guess his esp works everywhere. I kissed him. "That sounds great Carlos. What time do we need to leave?" I asked._

_"__The show starts at eight, but we should leave here by seven." He told me before going to take a shower. _

_After Carlos showered, I thought I'd take a bath. My hair was already done, and I didn't want to take the chance of ruining it in the shower. I turned on the faucet and couldn't believe when the massive tub was filled in about a minute. I had to let half of the water out, because I didn't want to get me hair wet. I soaked in the tub, and went to get ready. Carlos looked delectable in a black dress slacks, and black cashmere sweater. I choose black stove pipe pants, a cobalt blue wrap blouse and a pair of three inch black heels. _

_Carlos and I stood taking in the views of the city till the front desk called to say our car was waiting. We went down and I was once again speechless when I spotted the a chauffeur holding the door open to a Mercedes Maybach for us. Carlos kissed my neck, and whispered into my ear. "Babe it comes with suite." I looked at him in shock. _

_We had third row seats to Rock of Ages. It was a fabulous show. Constantine from American Idol stared in it, and it had music from all of my favorite bands. They played Bon Jovi, Journey, Poison, White Snake, Pat Benatar, and many others. The dancing was sensual, and I couldn't wait to get Carlos alone. _

_After the show we went to Le Bernardin to eat. It was a fabulous five star french restaurant in Manhattan. We ate and drank wine. I was feeling pretty good by the time we arrived back at the hotel. On the way up to our suite I tried to molest Carlos, but he wouldn't let me because of the cameras. Once we were in our suite he carried me to the bed, and had his sweet way with me. Yes it was sweet! We made love for hours, well it seemed like hours. After the third time I fell asleep. Hey, I spent the day in the spa, went to a Broadway Show, out to dinner, consumed over a half a bottle of wine and had multiple orgasms. I was tired!_

Rock of Ages is the #1 show on Broadway right now.

Thanks for reading!!!

M.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note: Thank you for all reading my story. Just to clear up some confusion this **__**NOT**__** real life, this is fiction. If we all had Ranger at home we would never leave the bedroom (sigh), hence there would be no need for fan-fiction. The story is also based after reading all 15 books and the in-between books. **_

_Chapter 10_

_I awoke to Carlos sliding back into the bed. "Where were you?" I asked sleepily. Ranger chuckled before answering. "I was working out Babe, and then I had some conference calls. It's almost nine, and breakfast is waiting." At the mention of breakfast my stomach let out a loud growl. I looked at Carlos sheepishly. He smiled down at me and gave me a quick kiss. "Come on let's feed the beast." He told me. I went to the bathroom quickly, and then put on bathrobe before heading out to the table._

_Carlos was sitting down at the table reading the newspaper drinking juice. I sat down, and Carlos poured me coffee. He uncovered the tray of food, and took what looked like vegetable egg white omelet and dry wheat toast. I took the sausage and cheese omelet, three pieces of bacon, and white toast the buttered liberally. I was wondering where Lester and Bobby were. "They're finishing up some last minute details with clients. I wanted us to have the day to ourselves today. Franz will be up later to clean up after we head out for the day." Hmm seems Batman's been esp-ing me again._

_I took a shower and dressed in designer jeans and a teal sweater. Carlos was dressed in jeans that looked like they were designed especially for his body, and a camel colored ribbed sweater. He looked delectable, and I had to wipe the drool from my mouth. He wolf grinned at me, grabbed my hand and lead me to the elevator. _

_The chauffeur was waiting for us with the car. I guess Carlos must have already given him instructions because he drove off to Bergdorf Goodman. We were greeted immediately upon entering the store, and a very nicely dressed lady led Carlos and I to a private room. "I have selected a few things I think Miss Plum will like." She said as she escorted me into the dressing room. She helped me try on different dresses which I modeled for Carlos. "Wrap it all up and send it here." Carlos told her, handing her his Rangeman business card. _

_My mouth dropped open, but Carlos quickly kissed me. I couldn't believe it. There were dresses from Valentino, Versace, Michael Kors, and Armani. There were shoes and boots from Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Gucci, Fendi, and an assortment of designer purses. _

_Next we went to FAO Schwartz. We purchased gifts for Julie, all of Carlos' nephews and nieces, my nieces, and Mary Lou's kids. I've always loved walking around the store. It makes you want to be a kid again. It was truly magical to shop there with Carlos, and see him relaxed playing with toys. _

_We had a light lunch, then Carlos took me to the American Girl store. I could not believe the __store. It was huge, and it was every little girls dream. Julie was a too old for a doll, but we purchased dolls for my nieces and Carlos'. I was watching all of the girls have lunch with their dolls, get there hair done, and dress in matching outfits. _

_"__Wow, if I had a little girl to spoil I'd love to bring her here." I mumbled to myself. Carlos looked at me and gave me his two hundred watt smile. He pulled me close to his side kissed my head and whispered into my ear. "We will definitely bring our little girl here." After that all I could imagine was a little girl that looked just like Carlos, with straight long black hair, big brown eyes, and huge smile. _

_Carlos had everything shipped back to Haywood. We went back to the hotel and I took a shower to get ready for dinner. Carlos said we were going to dress up tonight. I took extra time in the shower making sure everything was shaved and exfoliated. _

_I put on a periwinkle blue strapless bra, matching panties, a pale blue floor length dress, and three inch silver strapy heals. Carlos entered the room and my mouth went dry. He was delicious looking in another Armani suit. He stalked over to me and pulled me to him for a very forceful kiss. He pulled back and shook his head "Babe. We need to leave now or I won't be able to control myself." _

_While we were getting into the car I noticed a black SUV behind it. When we pulled out, it pulled out with us. I was about to ask about it when Carlos kissed me. Of course it took awhile for my brain to start functioning again. We pulled up in front of Peter Luger Steakhouse, and I saw the SUV again. Carlos leaned in close to me. "It's just Lester and Bobby. I want us to have a good time tonight, and I don't want to worry. They'll be watching our backs." I nodded that at understood, and gave the guys a finger wave as walked into the restaurant. _

_We were seated in a secluded table at the back of the room. Of course Carlos still had his back to the wall. Dinner was great. Carlos picked a fabulous bottle of wine. We ate salads, baked potatoes and filet _**mignon.**_ Carlos fed me chocolate mousse for dessert. It was very romantic. When we left the restaurant I was amazed to see a horse and carriage waiting for us instead of the car. Carlos took my hand and helped me into the carriage. I was snuggled close to his side, holding hands. Every once in while he pulled my hand up to mouth and kissed it. "This was a wonderful evening." I told him. He pulled me closer to him. "It's not over yet." He told me._

_The carriage ride went through Central Park. It was beautiful at night all lit up with wight lights. We stopped and Carlos got out offering me his hand. I stepped down and looked around. I saw violinist playing. Carlos took my hand and led me over to a secluded area and danced with me. It was the most romantic thing. We were dancing by moonlight, with white lights strung through the trees, and the violin playing._

_The song came to end. Carlos got down on one knee, took my hands in his and looked me straight in the eyes. "Since the minute you walked into the diner I knew you were special. I fell in love with you, and tried to stay away. I finally realized that I can't live without you. You are my every breath. Stephanie will you marry me?" I was full out crying. I tried to compose myself to answer. _

_"__Carlos I have loved you for so long. I tried to deny my feelings for you, and something kept pulling me closer to you. When you were shot I felt as if my heart was ripped out of my body. I knew from that moment that I needed you more than the I needed air to breathe. I decided I would take whatever you could give me. Carlos I would be honored to be your wife."_

_He stood up and placed a gorgeous two carat round diamond solitaire on my finger. It was a Tiffany setting, set in platinum. Carlos cupped my face in his hands and gave me a passionate kiss. "I love you." I whispered. He gave me full two hundred watt smile. "Babe" He pulled me in and hugged me close to his body. Carlos kissed me the whole way back to the hotel. _

_Once we stepped off the elevator he carried me to the bedroom and placed me down on the bed. _

_He took off his jacket and tie, and gave me a wolf grin. He slowly crawled up the bed toward me. Kissing every inch of my skin on the way. He took my shoes off of me kissing my legs. He moved back up my body pulled me up kissing me, and unzipped my dress. He pulled it off me. Kissing my shoulders and neck. I gasped as pulled my bra off, taking my nipple into his mouth. His sucked and nipped at it while massaging the other breast in his other hand. Then he gave the other breast the same attention._

_He kissed his way down my body pulling my panties off with his teeth. He kissed his way back up my legs teasing the sensitive flesh on the inside of my thigh. I quivering under him in anticipation. He licked my lips parting them with his fingers. He slid one finger inside of me, then another. My back was arched up off the bed, I fist-ed my hands in the sheets, and I was going crazy with need. Carlos bit down on my clit and pumped his fingers inside of me. I screamed his name, and before I finished my climax he he settled on top of me and slid his hard cock deep inside of me._

_He was going agonizingly slow. "Carlos." I said. He looked down at me, kissed me thoroughly. "Tell me what you need Babe." He kissed me again. "I need you, hard and fast." I told him. He grinned and slammed into me. The sensation was amazing. I came screaming his name, and he followed after me. We were snuggling close and lifted my hand kissing my ring and finger. Lets just say we didn't get any sleep that night. _

_The next day we decided to visit Carlos' parents on the way back. Then we had to go to my parents house. I wasn't looking forward to telling my mom. I already had one outrageously gaudy Burg wedding, and that was not what I wanted this time. I needed to keep mother from getting out of control. "Don't worry Babe. This is our wedding, and I won't let anyone ruin it." I kissed him. "You always know how to soothe my fears." I told him. _

_Bobby and Lester joined us in our suite for breakfast. Bobby came up to me and gave me a hug. "Congratulations Steph." I smiled up at him. "Thanks Bobby." Lester pulled me away from Bobby saying "My turn." He gave a hug and a wet kiss on the lips. "Anytime you get tired of Carlos, I'll be waiting beautiful." He winked at me. "Santos." Carlos sneered at him through clenched teeth. Bobby pulled Lester away from me, and smacked him upside the head. __Lester looked over at me and winked again. _

_Franz packed all of our stuff up, and Lester and Bobby were taking it back to Haywood. Carlos and I left to go to his parents. We were surprising them. We walked to the door, and his mother answered it. "Your Tia called and told me she saw you drive past her. She said you were on your way here." I looked at Carlos confused. He laughed. "I told you this neighborhood is a lot like the Burg." I guess it is._

_We entered the house and Maria screamed. "Ricardo." Carlos' dad came out of the den to see what all the commotion was about. Maria was hugging me. "I am so happy for you two." She told me. She took my hand showed Ricardo. He gave Carlos a big hug. Then they switched and Ricardo was hugging me and Maria was hugging Carlos. We stayed and chatted for fifteen minutes. Carlos said it was time to go. They gave us both hugs and kisses again. _

_"__We needed to get out of there before my Tia called the whole family, and they all showed up." He told me. "Wow is it really that much like the Burg?" I asked him. He smiled at me. "In some respects yes." _

_Next we went to my parents house. My grandma was waiting at the door. We walked in and my father stood up from the couch. He nodded at Carlos and came over and shook his hand. I still don't understand that. My mother was in the kitchen. My father called her. "Ellen can you come out here." She came out wiping her hands a dish cloth. "What is it. Oh Stephanie, I didn't know you were back in town." She looked down at my hand and immediately spotted the engagement ring. _

_"__This is great!" She came up and gave me a hug. "They just had a cancellation at the VFW on account of Stacy Montigo ran off and eloped." Carlos was chuckling. He composed himself. "It's not that we don't appreciate it Mrs. Plum, but Stephanie and I would like to plan our own wedding." He gave her a smile, and of course like all women Ellen Plum succumbed to his charm. "We are going to have an engagement party two weeks from this Saturday at Diego's. I was hoping all of you would attend, my whole family will be there." My mother smiled. "Of course we would love to meet your family." I knew she really wanted to run the whole show, but with Burg manners she had to smile and accept. _

_When we got into the car I turned to look at Carlos. "So were having a party in two weeks." He looked over at me. "Babe." I guess I could let him have his fun. "What do you we need to plan?" I asked. He took my hand and kissed it. "I've got it all under control. All you need to do is show up." I guess I couldn't ask for anything more. I know it won't be a hideous burg affair, and I absolutely love Diego's ._

_When we got back to Haywood the elevator stopped on five. It opened up and everyone screamed congratulations. I was passed from Ella,to Louis, to Tank, to Vince, to Binkie, to Hal, to Woody, and so on. I was truly amazed how happy everyone was for us._

_Two weeks flew by. I woke up Saturday morning, and reached over for Carlos. I felt around and found a note on his pillow._

_"__Babe,_

_I had to finish some last minute errands. The party is at seven tonight. I sent out all of the invitations, and I'll pick you up at six._

_Love,_

_Carlos._

_Hmm, now what do I do to till six. _

*My next chapter will have some flash back of what happened during the two weeks leading up to the party. Wishing Everyone a Safe and Happy New Year!

M.


	11. Chapter 11

**I still don't own anything. Thank you to my sister for editing. Hope you all enjoy:)**

Chapter 11

I grabbed a bagel and went to watch a movie to pass the time. I threw in Ghost Busters to calm my nerves. I was excited and a little nervous. All of my family and friends, and all of Carlos' family and friends would be together tonight. I just hope everyone gets along.

The past two weeks had been very busy. The day after we got back from New York Carlos and I had to go down to the police station. I didn't want to go, but Carlos insisted I had to do this. I just wanted to forget about everything that had happened.

We met with the Police Chief and the District Attorney about Joe. We were at the station for over an hour. We all decided that Joe needed help. I signed papers saying that I would drop all charges as long as Joe went through a year of counseling with licensed Psychologist, and he would transfer to Philadelphia.

I hated that Joe had started drinking and was becoming what he had always feared. I was praying that this change would be good for him. I know that he truly is a good man, and I don't want him to live up to the Morelli name. Carlos had wanted Joe transferred very far away, but I knew Joe's family was important to him. I had suggested Philadelphia because it was far enough that we wouldn't bump into each other, but close enough that he could visit his family.

Philadelphia was only an hour away so the District Attorney also suggested keeping the restraining order in place until Joe's court order therapy was finished. I agreed and when we left the police station I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. I would have hated it if Joe lost his badge, and I wanted him to get the help he needed. He had been held without bail because the judge considered him a flight risk. It had been brought up how he skipped when he had been accused for murder.

My mother had a run in with Angie Morelli at Giovinchi's. Angie was ranting and raving about how terrible I was. I couldn't believe that mother stood up for me in front of half the Burg. She put Angie in her place telling her how it was her fault that her son was turning out just like his cheating, abusive, drunk father. My mother told her she should thank me for getting him the help he needs. She also told her if I wasn't the caring person I was that Joe would have been in prison, and who knew if he would have made it out alive being an ex-cop.

I guess Angie had broken down, and my mother had to drive her home. The Burg is still talking how upstanding my family was. I think my mother was on cloud nine with all the attention. For once I wasn't disappointing her. Her phone was still ringing off the hook, but this time people were calling to praise me.

_ _ _ _ _

Carlos and I had dinner with Tank and Lula the night we got back. He asked Tank to be his best man, and I asked Lula to be my maid of honor. Lula was so excited that she jumped up and down a little to much. Her boobs had popped right out of her leopard print spandex top. Tank had to take his jacket off to drape over her. Lula and I went to the bathroom so she could fix her top. She was still so excited for us that she kept Tanks jacket on just in case.

Carlos had sent Lula and I back to New York to get dresses. We took Ram and Vince with us. We both found the most perfect dresses. The sales lady had her work cut out for her, but she was up to the task. She had talked Lula into a beautiful blue silk dress. It was scoop neck that showed off Lula's ample cleavage, but it wasn't skin tight which pleased me. It was long and flowing showing Lula's curves without clinging to her body.

My dress was a Versace. It was champagne colored silk dress with lace overlay. It had spaghetti straps and showed off all my curves. It fit like it was made just for me. When I stepped out of the dressing room Vince let a whoosh of air and Lula was speechless. When she finally was able to speak she said. "Damn white girl you look so hot that if Batman wasn't marring you, I would." We all laughed at the thought.

Both dresses only needed minor adjustments. The seamstress did our fitting and we had them shipped back to us. I was pleasantly surprised when the dresses arrived yesterday. I made Carlos promise me he wouldn't peek. Carlos said it was a deal as long as I spent the night with him. I know it was hardship on my part. Like I wasn't going to spend the night with him anyway.

I had called Mary Lou, and had her come over last week. Ella made us a fabulous lunch. Mary Lou was very excited for me. She screamed when she saw my ring. We sat around for two hours talking about everything that had happened. She understood why I chose Lula to be my maid of honor this time.

I looked up to see Ghost Busters had ended. I guess I had a lot to think about. I decided to go down to the gym and walk on the treadmill when the phone rang. It was Hal.

"Hi Steph. I have Eddie Gazzara on the phone for you. He called control to speak with us first. It seems that Morelli wants to talk to you." I sat down. I didn't know if I could talk to him so soon.

"Steph are you there." Oops I guess I had forgot to answer Hal. "I'm sorry Hal, I was just thinking. Let me talk to Eddie."

Hal had transferred Eddie over. I knew that call was being recorded since it came in through the control room.

"Steph?" I sighed. "Hi Eddie."

"I know your busy getting ready for tonight and I'm sorry to bother you like this." Eddie was avoiding the subject just like I would have.

"Eddie just spit it out." I told him.

"Well Joe's leaving today for Philadelphia, but he wanted to see you before he left. I think he needs to do this Steph."

"I don't know if I can Eddie." I replied. I had tears in my eyes.

"If you agree to see him Carl, Big Dog, and I would escort him. We would never leave you alone with him Steph." I needed to think. I needed Carlos. "Eddie can I call you back?" I asked.

"Sure, you have my number."

I hung up with Eddie and called Carlos. "Yo." It always made me smile when I heard his voice. "Carlos I received a call from Eddie Gazzara." I explained everything to him. He told me it was up to me if I wanted to see Joe, but he did ask if I said yes that he would like me to meet with him in the conference room on one. He also asked that in addition to Eddie, Carl, and Big Dog that Tank, Lester, and Hal were also there.

I called Eddie back to tell him that I would see Joe, and to give him the conditions. He agreed, and said they would be here in a half hour. I went down to five to let the guys know. They had already spoken to Carlos. Tank didn't look to happy about having to deal with Morelli.

"OK Steph, I need your cooperation on this." Tank told me. "If something happens to you Ranger and Lula will both kill me. The plan is that Hal and I will go down to the conference room now. When Morelli gets here Ram and Manny will escort everyone to the conference room. I will call Lester to bring you down."

"OK." I replied and I sat down next to Woody at the monitors. The room went silent. I turned and looked back at the guys. They all had shocked faces, and Tanks mouth was actually open. I rolled my eyes at them. "What didn't you think I could be agreeable?"

It was like they were synchronized, they all immediately put on their blank faces. Tank and Hal went to the elevator, and Lester sat down next to me. He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"We could have a little fun while we wait Beautiful." Lester grinned at me. "What do you have in mind." I asked.

Lester gave me a huge smile. "We could play hide the." Bobby came up smacked Lester in the head from behind. "Do you have a death wish Lester?" Bobby yelled at him. "I was just trying to kill time." Lester smiled over at me.

I knew he was actually trying to distract me. I was extremely nervous about having to talk with Joe, even with a room a full of men to protect me. I know nothing would happen, but I just wish Carlos was here.

Lester stood up and held out his hand to me. "Tank just called, they're ready for us." He told me. I guess I was lost in thought because I didn't realize that fifteen minutes had passed since Tank went downstairs. I took Lester's hand and walked over to the elevator with him. "You know you don't have to do this." He told me while we were going down. I gave him a weak smile. "I know, but it's something I have to do." I told him.

Ram and Manny were standing guard outside of the conference room. We walked in and Tank and Hal were standing next to the wall by the door. I looked over and saw Eddie, Carl, and Big Dog standing by the far wall at the end of table, and Joe was sitting in a chair in the middle of the far side of the table.

Lester gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I hadn't even realized that I was still holding his hand. I looked up and gave him a small smile, releasing his hand. I sat directly across from Joe. Even though I had a room full of men, it felt better to also have the table between us.

Joe ran his hand through his hair, and gave me a nervous smile. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me Cup..Steph. I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I'm sorry I started drinking, and that I cheated on you. Most of all I'm sorry for hurting you. I love you, and I never wanted to hurt you."

Joe looked around at all of the guys in the room and shook his head. I knew how hard this was on him. Especially with Ranger's men in the room. I gave a brief nod to continue. "I know I don't deserve the second chance you gave me. Thank you for believing in me. I'm seeing the Psychologist, and I think I might actually like working in Philadelphia. I just want to say thank you for dropping the charges, and I hope that maybe some day we can be friends again."

He looked down at the table, and I could see the shame written on his face. I leaned over the table and took one of his hands in mine and gave it a brief squeeze. "Please get the help you need Joe, and I hope one day we can be friends again." I stood up and walked out of the room.

Lester took me back up to seven. I sat down on the couch, and Lester handed me a tissue. "Are you going to be OK?" He asked me. I looked up at him through my tear filled eyes. "Yes, I just hope he will. I need to some time alone."

"Sure thing Beautiful." Lester told me, and quietly left.

I went to take a shower. When I stepped out my phone was ringing. I didn't feel like answering it, but it just kept ringing. "What." I yelled into the phone. "Don't you go all moody on me white girl. I've been calling your phone for the last half hour. I'm on my way to pick you up. We've got an appointment at the Spa over on Washington Street in twenty minutes." Lula huffed at me.

"I don't remember any appointment." I told her.

"That's why you have me. I'm the maid of honor and I have all of the appointment info. Now get your skinny ass down to the garage." She told me and hung up.

I quickly dressed and headed down to the garage. Lula was waiting in her Firebird, and Manny and Ram were waiting to follow us. I got in the car and Lula handed me a half filled box of donuts. "Ranger called you?" I asked her. Taking the donuts and immediately eating two.

"Batman said you needed to relax, and booked us both at the spa. Girl who would have thought being a maid of honor could be so much fun."

At the spa we each got a facial, a half hour massage, a manicure, pedicure, our hair styled, and our make-up done. Lula dropped me off at Rangeman, and I had just enough time to get dressed before Carlos picked me up. I loved what they did with my hair. It was up with strategically placed curls framing my face. My make-up was flawless, I looked like stepped off the cover a magazine. I slipped into the dress I wore the night Carlos proposed to me. I just finished putting my shoes on when I heard him open the door. I walked out to meet him.

He stopped when he saw me. "Babe." He whispered.

"Do I look alright." I asked, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

He gave me a full two hundred watt grin. "You look amazing." He came over and hugged me to him. "I'd kiss you, but we'd never make it to the party. Are you ready?" He looked down into my eyes.

"Just let me grab my bag." I wet to grab the small matching clutch purse.

We took the Mercedes. Carlos was in his zone, and I was lost thought. We passed Diego's and I looked over to Carlos. He smiled at me. "You'll see querida." I saw all of the cars at Deigo's so I know that he didn't change where we were having the party. Where could he be taking me?

**Sorry, but I had to tie up some loose ends with Morelli. The next chapter will be the one your waiting for. Thanks for reading!**

**M.**


	12. Chapter 12

We took the Mercedes. Carlos was in his zone, and I was lost in thought. We passed Diego's and I looked over to Carlos. He smiled at me. "You'll see querida." I saw all of the cars at Diego's so I know that he didn't change where we were having the party. Where could he be taking me?

Chapter 12

We drove for about five more minutes. I thought we were close to his parents house. We pulled into a church parking lot. I was thoroughly confused. Carlos came around and opened my door for me. We walked toward the large Catholic Church, but instead of going in the front doors Carlos led me around to a small chapel on the side of the church.

We stopped just outside of the doors. Carlos faced me, took both my hands in his, and stared into my eyes. He seemed nervous.

"Stephanie I don't want to wait another day. Will you marry me tonight?" I stood staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I think I was in shock. I didn't know if he was serious. Was I dreaming?

"Babe." Carlos snapped me back to reality.

"I think I was daydreaming. I thought I heard you ask me to marry you tonight."

Carlos pulled me into his arms. "I did." He said. I stepped back to look up at him. "But." Carlos put his finger over my lips. I guess he new I was going to go into a full out rant.

"Just say yes, and I'll take care of everything. If you don't want to we can leave now and go back to the restaurant." He sounded so unsure of himself. I've never heard him sound like that. I closed my eyes to process everything. I know that I love him, and I want to be with him for the rest of my life.

I opened my my eyes, and gave him a huge smile. "Well what are we waiting for?" I asked. His face lit up. He picked me up and spun me around. He set me down and flipped open his phone. "Send her out." he told the person on the other line.

Lula appeared before my eyes. She was dressed in her Made of Honor dress. "Girl lets go get you dressed", she told me while pulling me off towards a door I didn't notice before. We Stepped into a room and their hanging up was my wedding dress, and shoes. She helped me undress. I changed into a nude colored push up bra and underwear. I looked up at Lula in confusion. "Ella" She told me.

I guess Tank's esp was rubbing off on Lula. She helped me into my wedding dress. I sat down and put on my shoes. Lula handed me a pale blue garter. "Here's your something blue. You know everything you have on is new, so were covered there too. Now you need something old and something borrowed. Batman done left this here box for you. He said it was an old family tradition that all of the women wore it when they done got married."

I opened the box. I had tears in my eyes. It was a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings. "Now don't you cry white girl. You'll ruin your make-up and mine too." She gave me a smile and helped me put the necklace on. I put the earrings on, and stood to go.

"Thank you Lula. Your the best maid of honor ever." I told her. "Now you done it white girl. You done made me cry." I gave Lula a big hug, and went back to the door leading into the chapel.

Lula knocked softly on the door. We heard the organist start to play. The door opened to my father and Tank both wearing Armani tuxedos. Tank handed Lula a beautiful bouquet of fresh white calla lilies and took her arm in his to lead her down the small isle.

My father handed me a stunning bouquet of fresh white calla lilies and white roses, and held his arm out to me. "Are you ready Pumpkin?" I nodded yes. We heard the music change. "That's are cue." My dad told me.

We entered the church and my eyes immediately filled with tears. The chapel was lit with hundreds of white candles and everyone we invited filled the pews. It was hard to walk and take in everything. There were fresh white roses and calla lilies placed all around the chapel. A white silk runner ran the length of the isle. Everyone I looked at had tears in their eyes. It was quaint and romantic.

Carlos was waiting for me at the alter. He took my breath away. His hair was cut short, he was wearing an Armani tuxedo that was tailor made, and the love in his eyes was endless.

I knew I heard someone talking, but I was to focused on Carlos to make out what they were saying. My father kissed me on the cheek, and Carlos took my arm in his.

The priest went back in forth between English and Spanish. When it was time to say our vows Carlos took both my hands in his.

"I Ricardo Carlos Manoso take you Stephanie Michelle Plum to be my wedded wife. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the one with whom I wanted to share my life. Your beauty, heart, and mind inspire me to be the best person I can be. I promise to love you for eternity, respecting you, honoring you, being faithful to you, and sharing my life with you. This is my solemn vow."

I was sobbing, and I Tank handed me a hankie so I could compose myself.

"I Stephanie Michelle Plum take you Ricardo Carlos Manoso to be my wedded husband. You are my best friend, my mentor and my every breath. You are the best man I know. I promise to love you for eternity, respecting you, honoring you, being faithful to you, and sharing my life with you. This is my solemn vow."

We exchanged rings. Carlos' was a wide platinum band with three princess cut diamonds lengthwise across the middle of the band. My band was a platinum eternity band. It had ten quarter carat flawless round diamonds.

The priest announced that Carlos could kiss his bride. He took me in his arms and gave me a passionate kiss. I had to catch my breath again.

We were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Manoso. Everyone stood clapping and crying. Camera's were flashing. We gave everyone hugs and kisses. Everyone except our immediate family and Tank and Lula left. I noticed the professional photographer and videographer taking pictures.

We took tons of pictures at the alter. They took pictures of Carlos and I, the priest with us, the priest, Tank and Lula with us, Carlos' parents with us, his abuella Rosa with us, and so on. I thought the pictures would never end.

When we left there was a party limo to take everyone back to the restaurant, and a Rolls Royce limousine to take Tank, Lula, Carlos and I.

We entered and the band from the night Carlos brought me to Diego's was playing. Almost everyone was dancing. I was shocked to see my mother and father sitting with Carlos' mother and father. They were laughing like old friends.

Diego came over to us. "Stephanie you are the most bonita (beautiful) bride I have ever seen. I wish you both all the happiness in the world." He kissed and hugged me.

"Thank you Diego." I told him as he led us to a table in front of the band.

We sat down and the band changed to dinner music. All of the tables had ivory tablecloths. The chairs were covered in long ivory slip covers. The center pieces were ivory colored three wick candles surrounded by fresh roses.

The waitresses immediately brought out food to each table. Every table was served family style. This time I wasn't the only one moaning over the scrumptious Cuban food. I think they timed it to hit they're silverware to the glasses every two minutes. I would kiss Carlos, take a bite of food, kiss Carlos...

As soon as we finished eating our table was taken away and the band started playing again.

We danced and chatted all night long. I almost lost when my father asked me to dance. On cue they played Daddy's Little Girl. "I'm so proud of you Pumpkin." He told me.

"Did you know what Carlos had planned for tonight daddy?" I asked him.

"He told me earlier in the week when he picked me up for the tux fitting. I promised to keep it a secret." He kissed my head.

"How did everyone get to the church? When we passed the restaurant I saw everyone's cars." I wondered out loud.

My father looked down and smiled at me. "He had five party limos to drive everyone over to chapel and back. He truly loves you Pumpkin."

"Thank you daddy. I love you." Carlos came back to take me to cut the cake.

It was a beautiful three tier cake. Each layer was a different flavor. Carlos fed me a layer that was white cake with chocolate mousse and raspberry liqueur in the center. It was orgasmic. None got on my face because I didn't want to waste a crumb. When I fed Carlos his cake I made sure to get a little on his face, then I proceeded to lick it off him.

Next we did the garter toss. I couldn't even hear the music over the catcalls while Carlos took off the garter with his teeth. He was using his hands to caress my legs. My hormones were in overdrive. "Since you didn't let us throw you a bachelor party are you going to put on x-rated show for us?" Lester yelled at us.

Carlos stood up and growled at Lester, and Lester's mother came up and smacked him in the head. I guess it was a good thing he interrupted us, because we were lost in each other and might have unintentionally put on that show.

Lester caught the garter. "Now who's going to be the lucky lady?" Lester said wiggling his eyebrows.

I threw the bouquet and I was pleasantly surprised to see who caught it. Now don't get me wrong, under normal circumstances I wouldn't have wanted her to catch the bouquet, but Lester needed to be taught a lesson. My Grandmother looked like the cat that caught the canary. She had an evil grin on her face.

"Lester you know what this means. You need to put that garter on me, and every inch above the knee is a year of good luck. I want my granddaughter to have a life time of good luck."

Lester's face paled immediately, and he took off running. "Get back here!" My grandma yelled running after him. "You can run, but you can't hide. I can't wait till I get my hands on that fine package of yours."

Everyone in the room was laughing hysterically, even Lester's parents. It seems like he was going to be taught a lesson. We heard Abuella Rosa yell out to him. "Estupido chico!" (stupid boy). Of course that made everyone laugh harder.

The party went till two in the morning. We said goodbye to all our guests. I was surprised to see the favors as everyone was walking out. Carlos had Diego handing out bottles of very expensive wine to all of the women. Each bottle had our names and wedding date on it. Each of the men were given a small box of Cuban cigars.

"Thank you. I don't know how you pulled it off, but this was the most romantic wedding ever. My mother was extremely impressed and happy. I love you Carlos Manoso." I stood on my toes and gave him a kiss.

Carlos leaned down to deepen the kiss. "Let's go Mrs. Manoso, I want to make love to my wife."

Carlos led me back to limo, but instead of taking us back to the apartment we were driven to a small airstrip.

Thanks for reading! Please review.

M.


	13. Chapter 13

Carlos led me back to limo, but instead of taking us back to the apartment we were driven to a small airstrip.

Chapter 13

There was a sleek black jet waiting for us. I think my mouth dropped open. Carlos leaned over to close my mouth.

"Is that yours." I managed to squeak out.

"It belongs to Rangeman. We can't travel with our weapons on the airlines, and we have to go through a ton of red tape when we transport fugitives. This way we don't have to worry about either. We had a high profile client, and he gave us this as payment."

"How long have you had it?" I wondered out loud.

"Only a few months. There is no way I would have let you go after Singh without Tank if I had the jet."

I smiled up at my husband. Yes my husband. I remember when just thinking about getting married again would make me break out in hives. Of course I had never thought I'd have my own Cuban sex god.

The pilot was waiting for us when we entered the plane. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Manoso."

"Stephanie this Bird, Bird my wife Stephanie." Carlos made introductions.

Bird of course fit the Merry Men profile. He reminded me of Don Johnson, except he was 6'2'' and had muscles on top of muscles.

"Pleased to meet you Stephanie" He said while kissing my hand. Carlos growled at him.

"It's nice to meet you Bird." I told him.

"Ranger we'll be ready for take off in five minutes." Bird said as he walked to the cockpit.

The jet looked very comfortable. It had a sofa and recliners with seat belts, instead of lousy airplane seats. It had a small kitchen, and door at the back that I assume was a bathroom. We took a seat on the couch and Carlos buckled my seat belt for me. Before I knew it we up in the air.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Carlos gave me his a wolf grin. Bird's voice came over the speaker. "Feel free to take off your seat belts."

"Carlos unbuckled both of our seat belts and picked me up. He took me over to the door at the back of the jet. When he opened it I was surprised to see a king sized bed. Before I could say anything his mouth came crashing down on mine. He stood me up, and unzipped my dress.

"I need to make love to my wife." He said huskily

I took my shoes off and then did a little strip tease for him while I undressed. I could see he was trying to contain himself, letting me have my fun. He had finished undressing before I had my shoes off. His massive erection was beckoning me. I licked my lips, and Carlos growled.

His control had snapped. He pulled me over to him on the bed. I was straddling him as he impaled himself in me. Our mouths crashed together. It was desperate, all tongue and teeth. Carlos sucked the tender spot on my neck making me scream his name while he branded me as his. It was wild and needy. He took hold of my hips and ass thrusting in and out of me while he pushed me down on top of his cock.

We both came at the same time.

Carlos and I feel back on the bed still joined together. "Did I hurt you Carina?" He asked me.

"No that was orgasmic." I told him giggling. My fingers were stroking up and down the side of his body. I could feel him instantly get hard inside of me. He flipped me over, still keeping us joined.

He smiled down at me. "I love you Mrs. Manoso." I stared into his eyes. "And I love you Mr. Manoso."

This time we made love slowly and passionately. Carlos took his time kissing, sucking, and nipping all over my body. I climaxed three times before we came together. I fell asleep in his arms.

Carlos woke me kissing my head, my eyelids, my cheeks, and finally my lips. I tried to pull him down with me, but he pulled away shaking his head. I noticed he had changed and was wearing tan linen pants and a blue button down shirt. The top two buttons were undone leaving a glimpse of his delicious mocha latte skin. I licked my lips.

"Babe you need to get dressed. We have about ten minutes before we have to take our seats for the landing." I scowled at him. He chuckled at me, pulling me up off of the bed and pushing me into the adjoining bathroom.

I took care of business, and then dressed in the undergarments and floral sundress hanging on the back of the door. I stepped out of the bathroom and Carlos held up sandals for me. I slid them on my feet and went to buckle up on the couch.

"Carlos where are we going?" I asked him again.

"The plane is landing in Miami, and then we'll take a boat to a little Island." He told me.

The landing was smooth. We exited the plane and there was a limo waiting for us. We got in and it took us to the marina. "Carlos we don't have any luggage." I exclaimed. His mouth tilted up in that way it does when I amuse him.

"We don't need clothes Babe." He told me giving me a wolf grin.

"I know it's our honeymoon but I cannot go around naked the whole time." I was panicking. What if he was taking me to some nudest colony. I definitely was not up for that.

Carlos' head was tilted back and was full out laughing. "No Babe, I'm not taking you to a nudest colony. I had Ella send everything that we needed out ahead of time. I didn't want to be bothered with the luggage. When we leave I'll have our luggage shipped back home."

Carlos led me down the dock to a yacht. "I thought we were taking a boat?" I asked him.

"This is a boat." He replied.

"Carlos this is a yacht." I was shocked. I've never been on a yacht before.

I was introduced to the captain, who of course was another Merry Man. "Stephanie this is Marco. He works at Rangeman Miami, and we'll be the boats captain for us. Marco is also my cousin."

"It's nice to finally meet the bombshell bounty hunter. Your pictures don't do you justice." Marco told me.

"Thank you Marco. It's nice to meet you too."

Carlos lead me to a lounge chair and pulled me down to lay with him. We looked out at the water as the yacht took off toward the our destination. Carlos put suntan lotion on me so I wouldn't burn. I fell asleep sometime during the trip.

Marco dropped anchor, and a small speedboat took Carlos and I to the island. All I could see was one massive house. The speedboat took us to the little dock, and there was a wooden walkway leading up to the house.

We walked past a sparkling blue pool, and into the house. It was stunning! The house had floor to ceiling windows with spectacular views of the ocean. Every room was huge. The kitchen was to die for. It had granite everywhere, a subzero fridge, and a viking range. Hey I may not know how to cook, but I know expensive appliances when I see them.

The house had six bedrooms, at least eight bathrooms, a great room, a game room, a library, a gym, and a dining room that sat twenty.

"Who owns this?" I asked.

"It belongs to a business associate of mine. It's a private island in the Caribbean. The only person that will be here while we are is Filipe. He was the one in speed boat. He maintains the grounds and the security. Marco will also stay within a couple miles of here in case we want to travel to one of the other islands."

"Wow!" I know my eloquent speech, but really who goes to a private island on their honeymoon. I am one lucky lady.

Carlos led me to the master bedroom. He showed me where everything of mine was. I changed into a bikini so we could relax on the beach. I was searching for my birth control pills. I had just ended my period two days ago. Carlos came out of the bathroom, and I went in to search in there. He came up behind me and put his hands on my hips.

"What are you looking for?" Carlos asked while kissing down my neck to my shoulder.

"I was supposed to start a new pack of birth control pills today. Did you pack them?" I asked him.

He spun me around to look at him. "Babe."

Hmm I wasn't sure how to take that. "Do you really want them?" He asked me.

"But.." I tried to answer, but Carlos mouth claimed mine in a mind blowing kiss. I could feel him instantly harden through his swim trunks. He walked me backwards to the bed, and we didn't make it out to the beach till night time.

The kitchen was fully stocked. We ate grilled mahi mahi, steamed rice and veggies. Carlos was an excellent cook. He made learning to cook fun. I guess maybe it was all of the kissing and touching that was going on while we were cooking that it made fun.

We spent one week on the island. I think all we did the whole time we were there was make love and eat. Of course we went down to the beach and swam in the pool, but wherever we were we ended up making love.

The second week of our honeymoon we spent on the yacht. We island jumped in the Caribbean. Carlos took me to Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and then on the way back to Miami we went to the Bahamas.

We shopped and went site seeing on all of the islands. Carlos bought me something on each island. He bought me jewelry, perfume, dresses, hats, bikinis, and lingerie. I think the lingerie was for him, but he insisted on buying me everything. We bought Julie a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses in the Bahamas, and a delicate white gold bracelet in the Virgin Islands. The bracelet had fifteen heart shaped blue topaz'.

When we returned to Miami, Carlos took me to see the office and introduced me to all of the Miami Merry Men. Of course he was pulled into meetings. We decided to stay a week and work in Miami. Silvio was on vacation with family at Disney World so I filled in for him. Carlos was busy with client meetings, paperwork, and employee reviews.

I finally saw the batcave. He was right when he told me GPS wouldn't help me find it. He owns a breathtaking house on the beach. It has six bedrooms and seven baths. We would work during the day and spend the evenings at the house. It was like an extension of our honeymoon.

It is Saturday and we're returning to Trenton tomorrow. I'm very nervous because we're going to pick up Julie and bring her back to the house to spend the day with us. Carlos confided in me that she's never been to the house. He's only recently taken her places. Before Scrog he would only visit her at her house with Rachel present.

We pulled up in front of modest looking ranch style house. The door immediately opened and Julie came running out. We got out of the car and Julie ran up to me with her arms open. "Stephanie." She yelled jumping into my arms giving me a huge hug.

"Hi Julie, it's good to see you honey." I told her.

"I kept asking my dad when I could see you again. I was very mad that I couldn't make it to the wedding. We had my great grandmothers ninetieth birthday party, and my mother insisted I go. She really didn't want me flying alone, because she's paranoid. I can't wait to spend the day with you."

"Julie let Stephanie come in. I'm sorry Stephanie, she's been so excited to see you. I'm sure she'll talk your ear off all day. It's great to see you again, and congratulations on your marriage." Rachel said ushering us into the house.

"Thank you Rachel, it's nice to see you again to. You have a lovely home." My mother would be proud with my burg manners.

We stayed and chatted with Rachel, and then took Julie back to the batcave. Ron had taken Julie's sister and brother to his parent's house, so they weren't home.

Julie loved the gifts, and the house. She had started calling Carlos dad instead of Ranger. She had been seeing a psychologist since the incident. It was great to see her and Carlos play in the pool. We took a walk on the beach, and had a cookout. Carlos promised that next time we came down to visit that Julie could stay at the house, and he would teach her how to surf.

We had a great time, and we all cried when it was time to part. I knew Carlos was extremely happy on how happy Julie was with our marriage. I didn't want to leave Miami, but it was time to get back and Carlos' phone didn't stop ringing. Once word was out that he was back to work all of the offices we're calling him nonstop to fix any problems that came up while we we're on our honeymoon.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We've been back from our honeymoon for three weeks. We've gotten into a nice routine. Three days a week I get up and go down to the gym with Carlos in morning. I walk on the treadmill for an hour while he works out for two. Three days a week he goes down to the gym and I sleep in till he gets back, and then we shower together. Have I told how good he is in the shower? On Sundays we spend the morning in bed together.

Presently I'm in the bathroom peeing on a little white stick, and Carlos is sitting on the bed waiting for me to come out of the bathroom. Yesterday morning I woke up to go to the gym with Carlos, but when I stood up I had to make a mad dash for the toilet. This morning I slept in, but when Carlos came back from working out he found worshiping the porcelain god again.

Batman is always prepared. He put a wet wash cloth on my forehead, and left the bathroom. When he walked back in a minute later he handed me a box. I was shocked to see it was a pregnancy test. I guess what shocked me is that he had one.

"I bought it yesterday." He told me.

I was hoping that was why I was sick, but I didn't want to jinx it by saying anything. Normally I would have called Mary Lou to bring one over, but we hadn't told anyone we were trying to get pregnant. We actually didn't really discuss it. Carlos never gave me the packet of pills, and he made sure I forgot all about them. Let me tell you it was the best month of my life. I have never been more relaxed.

I decided to wait in the bathroom till I could read the results. Lets see it says you'll see one line if your not pregnant and two lines if you are. It's been over three minutes. I looked down at the test and my eyes started to tear up.

I stepped out of the bathroom with my head down. "Babe." I heard Carlos whisper. I looked up and smiled at him. Carlos jumped up from the bed and spun me around kissing me. He set me down and proceeded to kiss my stomach.

The End.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I really appreciated all of the encourangement to keep the story going. A huge thanks to Sue and Jackie for editing my story!


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